no more violent eruptions, please
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Fortnight Publications Ltd.
No More Violent Eruptions, PleaseAuthor(s): Michael McLoughlinSource: Fortnight, No. 306 (May, 1992), p. 23Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25553429 .
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D1 IUNGANNON DISTRICT Council's decision to declare a 'violence-free
,_Izone' could be a significant step on the
journey towards a peaceful solution to the
'troubles'.
Five years ago I posed a challenge to Dun
gannon councillors which seemed then just as
unlikely to receive widespread backing: to "seek
ways and means of bringing together in greater
understanding the two major traditions in the
council's area". Barely a year earlier, I had
been escorted from the chamber by the Royal Ulster Constabulary after a vociferous protest at unionist domination, and the Northern Ire
land Office had only begun to think seriously about 'education for mutual understanding' and a community relations programme.
Strangely, during the debate on that motion
there wasn't a dissenting voice. All sides?
Ulster Unionists, SDLP, independents, Sinn
F6in and Democratic Unionists?supported the
principle of improved relations, if no one seemed
anxious to set up a committee immediately. There was, perhaps, a good deal of unvoiced
scepticism. Less than a year, later, however, in the
aftermath of the Enniskillen massacre?when
11 people lost their lives in the IRA blast at the Remembrance Day ceremony?an active
committee to pursue mutual understanding de
veloped, and peace began to break out in a
chamber that had seen bitterness and acrimony since the council's inception in 1973.
The first big challenge for the newly established consensus soon surfaced?when it
became clear that the nettle of 'responsibility
sharing' would have to be grasped, as symbol ised by the rotation of the chair. Nationalists
had everything to gain from such a move?
since they had never held the post?but for
unionists it represented a momentous leap in
the dark. It proved too much for some, and
when decision-time came only three unionist
councillors (Ralph Brown, Ken Maginnis and
Jim Brady) voted for rotation of the chair on a
six-month basis, between 'constitutional' coun
cillors from the two main traditions.
But most people in the area were happy to
endorse the move?as they did at the 1989
election by returning councillors most active in
the move to consensus politics. And in the
council chamber the new understanding began to break up the traditional unionist and nation
alist alliances.
The difficulty which the rotation gesture
posed for unionists has been fully appreciated
by their moderate nationalist colleagues and
strong bonds of trust have developed, despite a
few hiccups?over employment practices, for
example?which is remarkable. Over these
four experimental years there has been a steady
marginalisation of the extreme voices on both
sides of the chamber. This perhaps found its
fullest expression so far in the vote in March to
call on paramilitaries "to recognise the demo
cratically expressed will of the majority of the electorate here and to declare Dungannon Dis
trict Council area a 'violence-free zone'", which
would "enable the council to further improve
community trust and harmony, and at the same
time establish a district where the Northern
Ireland political parties and the United King dom and Irish governments could advance dis
cussions towards a political agreement on the
totality of relationships within these islands".
A watershed?moments after the Enniskillen bomb in 1987
No more violent
eruptions, please
Look at Dungannon Council and you see Northern Ireland's future. MICHAEL McLOUGHLIN explains its latest cross-community move?a 'violence-free zone9
Of 19 councillors present 14 voted in favour
(four SDLP, seven UUP and three independ
ents) and two against (DUP), with two Sinn Fein and one Ulster Unionist abstaining.
The significance of this series of events will
not escape students of Irish history who know
the pattern ofthe 16th century Plantation: they will recognise in them unprecedented move
ment towards understanding and accommoda
tion at the heart ofthe 'merging zone' between
the British and Irish traditions in Ireland. The zone, stretching from Limavady and Derry
through Magherafelt, Cookstown, Dungannon,
Armagh and Banbridge to Down District has
long had 50/50 or 60/40 concentrations of each tradition, and understanding has always been
very difficult.
Geologically, the spots where continental
plates overlap carry the greatest risk of earth
quakes. Communities in the 'merging zone'
suffer the same tension below the surface?
day-to-day living problems for people from
both traditions have always been easier the
further away from the zone they live. Before
the 'troubles', the 'Irish' tradition in Bangor and the 'British' tradition in Newry or Mona
ghan had little to fear from the ruling majorities in their areas. But it was always a different story in the 'merging zone'?the fullest expression
of intolerance being the old sore of discrimina
tion in jobs and elsewhere.
Look at Dungannon today, in the heart of
the 'merging zone': growing trust where there
was suspicion, understanding instead of re
crimination, and 'responsibility-sharing' rather
than rule by a marginally dominant unionist
tradition. The new, middle-ground majority
sees beyond its boundaries and looks forward
to the day when its newfound trust spreads
through the 'merging zone'?northwards
through Cookstown and eastwards through
Armagh. With some justification the council stands
on high moral ground in calling for a 'violence
free zone'. It believes it has earned the right to
call on the paramilitaries in the area to end the
misery they have brought to so many families
on both sides of the divide. Its object is to establish an oasis of peace in
the north, which all sides might use to advance
discussions on the 'totality of relationships'. The best climate for talks on the future of
Northern Ireland would be a violence-free at
mosphere. That doesn't seem possible at the
moment on a region-wide basis but it can
perhaps be brought about in a smaller area.
The next step should be to convince those
parties, like Sinn Fein, which say they 'under
stand' the use of violence in this society, that
the cause of peace in Ireland can best be ad
vanced by endorsing the violence-free zone.
Such parties have influence with the paramili taries?sooner or later they will have to use that
in a positive way and call for a ceasefire.
Four years ago in Dungannon it took great
courage for Mr Maginnis, Mr Brown and Mr
Brady to make that leap to 'responsibility
sharing'. Nationalists in Dungannon have not
let them down and the whole community has
benefited.
Similar courage is now required from those
whose 'understanding' of the use of violence to
achieve political ends gives them the influence
to help break the vicious circle.
FORTNIGHT MAY 23
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