NewsRecord Weekly Publication

Friendly Observer

By Arthur Keefe

UK lessons

The news in the UK has been full of a historic handshake between the Queen and the man who used to command the IRA in Northern Ireland (NI). He is now deputy prime minister in the elected NI assembly, which has devolved responsibility for domestic affairs within the UK.

His “army” in 1979 murdered the Queen’s Cousin, Earl Mountbatten (who was the last British Governor in India before independence), and they are still dedicated to reuniting NI with the Republic of Ireland and ending the Queen’s rule over that part of Ireland.

Not too old to be beautiful, the British Queen Elizabeth greets her supporters. Photo source:  http://www.qub.ac.uk

The difference now is that nearly all save a few dissident IRA members, have given up the armed struggle in favour of democratic means.

The Peace process has taken many years. The issue was essentially that the minority Catholic population want a united Ireland, whereas the majority Protestants want to remain within the UK.The division is not really one of religion, but of tribalism.

DUBLIN, IRELAND - MAY 18, 2011: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the Guinness Storehouse and watch the pouring of a pint on May 18, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland. The Duke and Queen's visit to Ireland is the first by a monarch since 1911. An unprecedented security operation is taking place with much of the centre of Dublin turning into a car free zone. Republican dissident groups have made it clear they are intent on disrupting proceedings. Photo by Irish Government - Pool/Getty Images

The Catholics are descended from the early population, whereas the Protestants are the descendants of migrant workers who 400 years ago were taken from Scotland by the English to work the land.The sectarian divide has been sustained by largely separate neighbourhoods, by separate schools, and separate workplaces. Few Catholics joined the Police or the Army, allowing them to be seen as instruments of British oppression.The creation of two separate States ,a Republic in the South, and a British Province in the North, only occurred in 1921 when the South managed to achieve independence from Britain through an armed uprising.

Today, the Republic has little interest in incorporating the troublesome North, although there is a lot of cross border co-operation on domestic issues, and there are no formalities for cross border travel.

The British equally see the North as troublesome, and would not oppose a united Ireland.The official line is that they will respect the wishes of the majority, which is currently to remain in the UK. However, with the higher Catholic birthrate, a majority may vote the other way in 20 or 30 years.

The handshake was not the first symbol of changing times. The first was when the leaders of both communities, encouraged by President Clinton, and brokered by Tony Blair (then the UK PM), sat down together to form a power sharing elected Assembly. Despite a bumpy ride, this arrangement has held.

The next symbol was the Queen being invited to the Republic to meet the Irish President, the first such visit for hundreds of years. The British record of rule in Ireland was horrific, from Cromwell until the last century. The Queen’s visit and her warm welcome was a sign of a changed relationship there, too.

Are there lessons for the seperatist forces in Mindanao?

The problems are similar. A religious divide based on heritage rather than theology; an indigenous population surrounded by more recent settlers; an armed struggle going nowhere and sapping energy from a dispirited population.; a feeling of “belonging South” rather than to the colonial power in Manila.

However, differences are also apparent. There is no obvious neighbour to join with, and independence is hardly viable, despite a population three times that of the whole of Ireland. There is no EU which for Ireland makes borders permeable.

The problems of Ireland and Mindanao are similar, but the solutions need to be different.

A Federal structure such as is being negotiated at present could work, but only with substantial devolution of power, much more than a strengthened Local Government.

In the UK, we also have a move for Scotland to be fully independent. A referendum will be held in 2 years time, although at present this move has only about 30%support. Unlike both Ireland and the Philippines, not a shot has been fired in a campaign being conducted entirely democratically by debate and votes. Perhaps that is where the lesson for both the UK and the Philippines lies.