1970s Northern Ireland. Topic A: Violation of Liberties in Northern Ireland due to the Government and State Police Forces

Transcription

1 1970s Northern Ireland Topic A: Violation of Liberties in Northern Ireland due to the Government and State Police Forces

2 NUMUN XII 2 Introduction In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Irish government experienced a rapidly deteriorating situation due to growing violence in the country. Constant rioting and uprising was fatiguing the state police force while British troops became increasingly involved in the conflict. The North Irish Parliament, the Stormont, faced a crisis and began implementing increasingly infringing legislation. These measures began with banning parades and marches and reached new heights with the imposition of internment. In 1971, the Irish government, with the support of the British Army began Operation Demetrius. Operation Demetrius consisted of attempting to arrest 450 Irish citizens, none of which were loyalist, in an attempt to quell the violence in Northern Ireland. The arrests were made with little to no reason except supposed ties to the IRA and Catholic Rights Movement and often resulted in violence and abuse. The Stormont s infringement on civil liberties and internment policy was one of the main reasons for conflict escalation in the early 1970s. The internment policy caused immediate outrage and lead to protests and violence. Arrests often resulted in deaths on both sides and allegations of torture ran rampant throughout the country. Furthermore, the policy showcased the desperation of the Irish and UK governments to end the fighting. In response to the increasing violation of human rights, many cities in Northern Ireland began to revolt. Some of the most pronounced resistance was experienced in Derry, where the residents barricaded the region and separated from the government for a period of 11 months. Overall, the internment policies imposed in Northern Ireland were deemed to be a complete failure. Many of the arrested citizens were high profile individuals who had no connection to violent factions. In addition, IRA leaders were left untouched by the police, eluding the original goal of the

3 NUMUN XII 3 internment policies. Public outrage over the high profile arrests and stories of torture and abuse helped both wings of the IRA to recruit in large numbers. Furthermore, the policies are said to have directly contributed to the eventual takeover of the Irish government by a British Assembly. It will be the goal of this committee, which is set on January 1 st, 1972 (before the takeover by Britain) to work together and take action to ensure that the liberties of the North Irish Citizens remain intact. This committee will bring a diverse array of politicians together, hopefully resulting in policies that serve as both long term and short term solutions to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Northern Ireland..

4 NUMUN XII 4 Background A mounting civil rights campaign and increasing violence throughout the late 1960s jeopardized the security of Northern Ireland. The North Irish Parliament, began to lose grasp of its citizens and began adopting incrementally more severe policies in order to maintain order. The policies, imposed by the Stormont, initially aimed to block protests and ban marches and eventually lead to the mass arrests of citizens through internment. Similarly, British presence in the region called into additional concerns for the liberties of the North Irish citizens. Throughout the late 1960s peaceful marches were conducted across Northern Ireland in order to urge the Unionist-lead Stormont to reform their policies to be more favorable towards Irish Catholics. After a series of non-violent parades, a march in Derry on October 5 th 1968 resulted in conflict between the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and protesters after citizens decided to march when the event had been banned. Both Stormont and British MPs participated in the march which turned violent when the RUC used their batons to break up the crowd. Rioting ensured in the wake of the march prompting the then Home Affairs Minister, William Craig, to ban all marches on November 13 th. Eventually reform followed the events, resulting in the dismissal of William Craig and legislation that addressed the deteriorating liberties of the North Irish People 1. This reform, undertaken by the then North Irish Prime Minister, Terence O Neil, while pleasing more conservative parties, failed to appeal to more radical Nationalist groups and angered Unionists for being too favorable to the opposition. Irish Catholics were further angered by the fact that anti parade legislation had only been used to ban Republican and Nationalist gatherings, whereas Loyalist events resumed relatively unimpeded. 1

5 NUMUN XII 5 Early 1969 saw a brief lull in activism; however, violence steadily increased throughout. The creation of Free Derry and the death of Samuel Devenny had made it clear that a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict was not in sight. In August of 1969, Northern Ireland saw the largest outburst of violence to date during The Battle of Bogside. This outburst of violence occurred during a parade commemorating the successful defense of Derry by Protestant forces in Nationalists, seeing the parade as a matter of provocation began to throw stones at the participants, eventually resulting in multiple days of rioting and violence 2. The Battle of Bogside lasted several days and took a heavy toll on both sides, with the RUC resorting to using tear gas to dispel the rioting. Furthermore, the effort by the RUC in trying to keep order left the regiment tired and weakened. This escalation in violence prompted The Republic of Ireland to set up hospitals along their shared border and prompted the British government to petition for a United Nations peacekeeping force. The presence and actions of the RUC became more controversial and dissenting opinion from Catholics mounted higher than ever before. In the midst of the battle, 28 Republicans were taken from their homes and arrested by the RUC; no loyalist participants were arrested. The conflict was finally resolved when British soldiers entered Derry, dismissed the RUC and was hailed as a neutral police force. This event solidified the involvement of the British government in the affairs of Northern Ireland. Although at first thought of as a neutral force, sentiment over British presence changed as the conflict progressed, which, in turn, further called into question if Northern Ireland was fit to be an independent entity of the United Kingdom. As the situation escalated, the United Kingdom began to take a more active role in North Irish affairs. Throughout late 1969 and 1970 the British Army s role in Northern Ireland would become increasingly more defined as a counter insurgency force. The army s presence immediately 2

6 NUMUN XII 6 began creating tension in the Bogside and Derry areas. As rioting continued, the everyday life of many North Irish citizens became further disrupted. Many Protestants viewed the army s response to Catholic rioters as not firm enough, whereas Catholics viewed the army s actions to be too firm. Several of the commanding British officers, coming off of colonial campaigns in Africa and the Middle East, treated the conflict in a colonial nature, further complicating the situation. It was similarly becoming more evident that there was a latent power struggle between the Stormont and the British Army, especially with the recommendation to disarm the RUC and disband the RUC s Special Forces unit as established in the British-led Hunt Report 3. With the RUC no longer serving as the main police force, the British army bore the brunt of angry Catholic rioters who were upset over imposed curfews and arrests in Derry. It was during this time where the Catholic-supported Republican movement was divided into two different wings. As the army s impositions became increasingly invasive to everyday life, Catholic youths began to take to riot in the streets. Their behavior was indicative of a growing sense of nationalism and disdain for authority that embodied young Northern Irish Catholics for the coming decades. Increased rioting caused the army to adopt the use of Snatch Squads which rushed into Free Derry wielding batons and arresting alleged conspirators. These arrests were often made at random, often on little evidence other than hearsay. The unjust arrests of Catholics would serve as the beginning of a downwardly spiraling human rights situation in Northern Ireland. Rioting became extremely prevalent in Derry and spread to Belfast, prompting the British Army to make the statement that they would begin to get tough on rioters. This paired along with the military policing actions of the army made it apparent that the British Army saw Catholics to be the problem and further convinced the people that the army was 3

7 NUMUN XII 7 protecting the Unionist backed Stormont rather than being the agent for reform that Catholics had initially hoped for 4. In March of 1971, Brian Faulkner was sworn in as the prime minister of Northern Ireland. Faulkner had risen through the ranks of the North Irish Government, holding a variety of cabinet positions beginning with his role as the Minister of Home Affairs in As the Minister of Home Affairs, Faulkner, a right leaning Unionist, gained favor by handling the IRA border campaign of the 1950s through security measures including internment. Faulkner, now as Prime Minister, facing rioting and unrest from Catholics began immediately drafting up plans to arrest several alleged conspirators through the revival of internment policies. Leadership of the British Army, most outwardly Harry Tuzo, directly opposed internment policy believing that it was too difficult to arrest the correct individuals. Nonetheless, in a conversation with the Prime Minister of Britain, Edward Heath, Faulkner convinced the British Army to participate in internment activities. On July 23 rd 1971, members of the British Army and RUC stormed Republican households in search of documents that would serve as evidence to implicate opposition members. As the list of internment targets grew, it became abundantly clear that the majority of the targets were political opponents of the Unionist-lead Stormont rather than supposed terrorist and IRA leaders. In all, the list included, 450 names, 342 of which were found and detained. The internment sweep, known as Operation Demetrius, captured relatively few individuals who were involved with the targeted Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and instead detained a few members of the defense-focused Official IRA, public speakers, and civil rights advocates. As interment continued, more innocent people were arrested, leading to increased rioting and enrollment in the PIRA. In addition, accusations of torture began to surface, prompting additional outrage and condemnation by the British Government and 4

8 NUMUN XII 8 the International Red Cross. The British Government went as far to publish the Compton Report which investigated the internment operation of August 9 th and recognized that prisoners were exposed to a variety of physical and emotional ill-treatment 5. The constitutional jurisdiction for internment in Northern Ireland lies in the Special Powers Act of The act allowed the Minister of Home Affairs to take emergency actions such as internment and the banning of publications and parades during times where peace or order needed to be maintained 6. Historically the act had been used overwhelmingly by the perennially Unionist controlled Stormont to block Republican publications and marches. Almost no Loyalist groups, except the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the 1960s, were affected by the act. The internment clause of the legislation was first invoked in 1924 to arrest 700 Republicans and was then subsequently used during the IRA border campaigns of the 1950 s, as mentioned above, as well as in Laura K. Dohonue, 'Regulating Northern Ireland: The Special Powers Acts, ', The Historical Journal, 41, 4 (1998)

9 NUMUN XII 9 Current Situation In the beginning of 1972, Northern Ireland was in a state of disarray. The tensions between Protestants and Catholics were mounting to unseen heights and the number of fatalities caused by violence was rising steadily as conflict spread over the region. The presence of the British army, first seen as a neutral force, dealt with Catholic uprisings with increasingly violent tactics, calling into question their abilities to handle the rapidly deteriorating situation. Among these tragedies, North Irish citizens, specifically Catholics, continued to see their liberties being violated by the North Irish Government. Many of the violations of liberties occurred due to measures taken by the government attempting to maintain order. At first the Stormont outlawed marches in certain areas and then began to ban publications that aligned with the Republican plight. Marches were seen as provocative events that often incited violence and rioting. The Stormont bans on parades often only affected Republican and Nationalists marches, indicating discrimination and further angering Irish Catholics. This was evident during the actions leading up the Battle of the Bogside which was catalyzed by a Protestant March celebrating a medieval victory by Protestant forces. Although at times bans on parades and curfews helped reduce violence, they angered many Catholics who saw the tactics as oppressive. As previously mentioned, Terrence O Neil attempted to make several reforms in regard to Catholic civil liberties; however, his actions were met with mixed reviews by both Catholics and Protestants. British presence in Northern Ireland by the start of 1972 reached well above 20,000 armed troops in hundreds of locations 8. The role played by the British Army was becoming increasingly 8

10 NUMUN XII 10 complicated and long term. The massive amount of soldiers as well as documentation such as the Hunt Report, which changed the structure of the domestic police force, further confused the relationship between the British Army and the Stormont. Furthermore, both Protestants and Catholics were angered by the actions of the British Army. To Protestants, the British Army was failing as a source of protection from Republican militant groups; to Catholics, the British Army became increasingly more violent in their measures to maintain order. Similarly, rumors began to surface over the relationship between state security forces and Loyalist paramilitary groups, calling supposedly neutral forces into further question. As can be seen by the figure below, focusing on the cluster, it is clear that the British army both suffered and caused a significant number of deaths throughout the early years of the troubles. In 1972, internment policies were still in full use. In the actions undertaken after Operation Demetrius in August of 1971, it was clear that Catholics no longer felt safe in Northern Ireland. The

11 NUMUN XII 11 Catholic section of Derry was once again barricaded while many Catholic and anti-loyalist politicians withdrew from their posts in protest. Catholic workers began to strike and many Catholic families fled their homes and moved to the Republic Ireland. The protests over internment continued for the rest of the year and culminated in a march from Belfast to Long Kesh which was eventually blocked by the British Army 9. By early 1972, the number of Irish citizens that were arrested under internment policies reached over 900, none of which had Loyalist ties 10. As the abject conditions of internment camps surfaced, several organizations such as the Red Cross began to question the Stormont on human rights. Internment dually served as a source of contention between the Stormont and British government. Northern Ireland is very clearly in the midst of the largest crisis since its founding in The committee must come together to discuss and attempt to correct the rapidly spiraling situation in the region. Immediate action needs to be taken in order to prevent the loss of civilian lives. The role of the Stormont and state police forces in the liberties of the Irish people must be clearly established in order to prevent conflict in the long term. This committee is composed of a diverse group of politicians and activists who hopefully can come towards a comprehensive solution that is amicable for all factions in Northern Ireland

12 NUMUN XII 12 Questions to Consider 1. How can the committee address the growing loss of liberties felt by North Irish citizens in general? 2. Do internment policies need to be reviewed? 3. Is the Special Powers Act of 1922 the most effective way to handle crises or is it an outdated piece of legislation? 4. What is the role of the British Army in maintaining order and carrying out military operations in Northern Ireland? 5. How should neutral state police forces such as the Royal Ulster Constabulary be structured in order to legally handle conflict? 6. Is the Stormont, in its current construction, fit to be the governing authority of Northern Ireland? 7. Are the liberties of Protestant citizens treated differently than those of Catholic citizens?

13 NUMUN XII 13 Recommended Sources Provides an overview of key themes and events during The Troubles. Has a large amount of videos to compliment articles. - Very comprehensive look at the history of Northern Ireland. Breaks down The Troubles into key events and chronologies, provides multiple primary and secondary sources. This playlist contains videos that were part of a trilogy of documentary series called Provos, Loyalists, and Brits. Provos episodes 1 and 2, Loyalists episode 1, and Brits episodes 1 and 2 are useful to watch.