Who is to blame for Ulster's sad position - a situation whereby
the representatives of the I.R.A. sit in government with only
the vaguest of promises that arms and Semtex will be handed
in, and an absence of repentance, and indeed apology for the
atrocities committed against the people of Northern Ireland?
One could blame a whole phalanx of individuals, and also point
the finger at the shortcomings of the Ulster Unionist Party,
the D.U.P., and yes the Orange Order at key periods during
the past 30 years. But by and large concerned Protestants,
Unionists and Orangemen have done their best, if not always
good enough, in the bid to save this Province from the murderers
and terrorists of the I.R.A. If they have failed at times,
it is because they have lacked the expertise, especially in
the area of propaganda, and have failed to capitalise on important
successes during the past 30 years, most notably the overthrow
of the Sunningdale Agreement in 1973. But those who must feel
most shame for the capitulation to the demands of the I.R.A.
are those who could have done most to have defeated the I.R.A.
and the other republican groups. Top of the list must be successive
British governments who have failed to use the maximum means
at their disposal to defeat the armed campaign of terror.
That is not to blame the brave soldiers and policemen who
have died in the service of the Crown, with one hand tied
behind their back. The Army - an army rated the most professional
in the free world - was never allowed the freedom to do what
it was trained to do, defeat the enemies of the State in the
same way that it was allowed to defeat the Argentinians in
the Falklands war and to win the Gulf War. That was because
cowardly politicians in both the main parties had not the
bottle to win the war. They preferred to woo Dublin, and at
the same time to use the army as a sort of peace-keeping force
- a neutral armed force holding the line between two opposing
factions, in the same way the British Army had tried - just
as unsuccessfully to carry out this same type of task in India
in 1947 and in Palestine in 1948. But all the fault does not
lie by any means with mainland-based politicians. Northern
Ireland has its own share of politicians who believe the most
expedient thing is to bow to superior force, and to reserve
the most severe criticism for those prepared to oppose the
enemy. Perhaps, however, the most guilty party in the sell-out
to republicanism has been the section of Ulster society which
has, by and large, opted out during the past 30 years - the
affluent middle-class. There have been honourable exceptions,
and one can think of politicians, of barristers, solicitors,
and other professionals who have stood up and been counted,
and have given the Unionist population leadership. But the
vast majority of middle class people, living comfortably in
'safe' areas of Northern Ireland, have sat on the sidelines
and looked on as the I.R.A. has waged bloody war on their
co-religionists living in working class areas of Belfast,
Portadown, Lurgan, Londonderry, Coleraine, Ballymena and other
parts of the Province. They have tut-tutted at Orangemen and
loyalists for excesses, but from a safe distance, and have
certainly not been at inter-face areas on nights when Protestant
areas came under attack from mobs and from gunmen and bombers.
The same people have turned a blind eye to the suffering of
Protestant farmers living in border areas who have been 'ethnically
cleansed' and targeted for murder. What do such people know
of what it has been like to be a Protestant living in South
Armagh, Fermanagh, or other vulnerable areas close to the
border? What did they know - or care - as Protestants were
hounded from Churchill Park, Portadown, from Wakehurst, Lurgan,
from most of the west bank in Londonderry, or from Moyard,
New Barnsley, Cliftonville, Duncairn Gardens, the 'Bally'
streets of Oldpark, or a dozen other locations? Little or
nothing, and in spite of bombs exploding, town centres destroyed,
Protestants forced from large chunks of the Province, traditional
routes closed to Orangemen, such people have kept silent and
pretended nothing was happening. Yet this section of the population
owed its prosperity and affluence to a great extend on Northern
Ireland's place within the United Kingdom - a place secured
in 1921-22 by the bravery of Orangemen and Unionists who fought
the I.R.A. And by the firm stand of most Ulstermen, including
the middle classes during the Home Rule struggles of 1912-14.
It is the middle-class which is a key element in any struggle
as it traditionally is the section which provides leadership
and know-how. By opting out, it left the working class urban
Protestant population and small farmers and rural folk to
carry on the fight against an enemy which could call on the
expertise provided by so many middle-class Roman Catholics
prepared to make their stand for republicanism. It has been
a shameful chapter in Northern Ireland's modern history, and
the abdication of middle class Protestants from their responsibility
has been a key factor. A large percentage has rejected Orangeism,
and declined to wear the "Sash my Father wore" and
not followed in the tradition of their fathers, grandfathers
and other ancestors. They were not being asked to take up
arms or do anything illegal. The Orange Order and Unionist
parties rejected and condemned illegal violence and those
who joined paramilitary groups. No, all they were being asked
to do was to make a stand, and contribute to the best of their
talents in the defence of Ulster. By and large they failed
to respond and now they, like everyone else, will reap the
whirlwind as republicanism prepares to enjoy the fruits of
its victory.
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