Spelling out the commitment
David Bleakley
Edward Heath is the latest in a long line of British Prime Ministers who is beginning to realise that there are no easy answers to the problems of Ireland. The best he can hope to do in the present Ulster crisis is to proceed on the basis of what is possible in the light of circumstances as they now exist in the Province.
For this reason, most commentators believe that the Prime Minister will attempt too little as he prepares his next Ulster initiative, and certainly this would be in line with recent conservative strategy. But there is just the possibility that Mr Heath will try too much; will see for himself a place in history as the man who solved the Irish Question. Europe and Ireland. What a double — and, in addition, one in the eye for the Leader of the Opposition!
The danger is there. English politicians have always had decided ideas about what is good for Ireland, without bothering too much to discuss those most involved. Southerners know to their cost all about this peculiarly English disease; it is to be hoped that the North Irish will be spared. the experience in the near future. Quite simply, this means that the British White Paper must avoid a " solution" which would have to be imposed against one or other of Northern Ireland's main traditions.
The formula which is needed is one that will make it possible for the great majority of Irish people in the North who value their British citizenship to continue that citizenship in full, while, at the same time, meeting the desire of another section of the people for guarantees which will enable them to enjoy equal status in the state and express their right to aspire democratically and without penalty to an all-Ireland government. A White Paper which fell short of this standard would run the risk of re-establishing the secretarian political system which it seeks to eradicate.
At this stage, Mr Heath must remember that he is working in an emotional minefield — all the White Papers in Whitehall will be pointless if they do not take account of the human dimension. What really counts is the present and appalling conditions of Ulster. Plans which are attractive to political theorists in Dublin or London will be of no value if they do not chime in with the immediate and urgent requirements of the battered Northern community.
For most Northerners the thing that counts is real peace; the fine print of politics has little interest for a people whose patterns of ordinary life are being threatened at every point. These people want to get their community going again. Given a firm guarantee of good government they are unlikely to worry overmuch about the details.
This desire on the part of most North Irish people for effective government can be Mr Heath's greatest asset. It should not encourage him to " get rid " of the Ulster problem by dumping it on the doorstep of local people; rather, he should regard it as an historic opportunity to give Britain a continuing and creative involvement with government in the Province, until such a time as a local consensus can be agreed. It is at this point that a key element in peace planning for Ulster must be faced — the need to divide the solution into two distinct parts, immediate and longer term. Grave difficulties have arisen because this distinction has not been given adequate recognition. The immediate concern must be that of establishing an effective pattern of law and order and at the same time mounting a massive programme of social and economic reconstruction — all of which will provide, in a practical way, manifestations of hope for Ulster's suffering people. The longer-term problem concerns the complete restructuring of govern ment and deals with subjects which by their very nature are divisive and unlikely to yield to instant diplomacy.
Fortunately Ulster has started on the short-term problem. In the activities of Mr Whitelaw and 'his team the Province already has the outline of a Ministry of Reconstruction. So far, Westminster has been too prone to regard direct rule as a passing phase, quite forgetting that it might be the only form of government that Northern Ireland will have for some considerable time. Indeed, a more realistic view of direct rule should get us thinking in terms of a " grafting-on " operation which would involve local politicians in the work of the new administration.
And while the social reconstruction continues, the White Paper should also provide for the election of a regional assembly (at this stage largely advisory in role) in which proposals for the future shape of government would be argued out among the local people most affected by them. The assembly, in which moderates elected, by PR would have a significant say, would have the great merit of giving the post-1969 vintage of leaders an opportunity to prove themselves at the polls. It would also provide Mr Whitelaw with a democratic forum through which he could operate, and would remove the argument from the streets to the arena where it rightly belongs.
Each to its task, the separate but related operations would make a contribution towards the establishment of political normality. The assembly, unimpeded by the day-to-day demands of government could continue its search for agreement on the form of executive government for the region; meanwhile, the direct rule caretaker administrator, reinforced by local people (and perhaps gradually dominated by them) would be engaged in the vital operation of community reconstruction.
A White Paper based on a two-pronged approach would have the great merit of recognising that the Province must have adequate government until effective local agreement is reached. To this requirement there is no honourable alternative. The British Government must steel itself to what may be a very long haul and the White Paper should spell out the commitment.
No doubt splendid plans for the future of Ulster and all of Ireland are pouring in upon Mr Heath; at this stage, he must remember that the Northern people have been caught in what has been described as " one of history's hurricanes." Unless they can be led to safety there can be no real progress on the wider issues of NorthSouth and Anglo-Irish relatiOnships.
An ill-considered document could become the occasion for civil disorder on a scale and intensity which would destroy all of Ireland for generations to come and have serious repercussions in Britain; equally, with understanding proposals we can open up an era of community cooperation in Northern Ireland, which could turn the Province into one of the most dynamic areas of the British Isles,
David Bleahley is the former Minister of Community Relations in Northern Ireland, and author of Peace in Ulster.
Previous page
