Editorial

North American governments are not our friends

Late last year, a Canadian professor issued an invitation on behalf of Ottawa University to five republican former prisoners to participate in a conference being organised by his college. The conference was designed to examine the impact of imprisonment, how people cope with incarceration and in particular how former prisoners might assist and encourage those still in jail use their time on the inside productively. All worthy aims and none of which could in any way be deemed as either subversive or in the least likely to cause disorder in Canada or elsewhere. The Canadian authorities nevertheless refused to grant any of the five a visa to visit the country. One of the five - Armagh man John Nixon - was also refused permission to visit the United States last year.

Ostensibly the reason for refusing entry is due to the fact that these people have been to prison and the governments of both the United States and Canada deem those sentenced to imprisonment as a result of the northern Irish conflict as either criminal or terrorist or both.Such treatment of Irish political former prisoners raises grave questions for about the value of the current political process in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement was brokered in large measure by US government appointee, George Mitchell the supervision of arms decommissioning is in the hands of Canadian government appointee, General John de Chastelain. This surely begs the question how Sinn Fein could possibly have agreed to the presence of people representing governments that designate the republican struggle criminal and terrorist. What kind of deal can be brokered by a party that regards one of the participants as criminal and the other just. What kind of commentary is being made about our fallen heroes if those who survived are handing over the arsenal to a agency that damns them all as outlaws?

The recent visa rejection are by no means the first nor were they confined to that group since a Sinn Fein councillor suffered a similar fate at about the same time. Nevertheless, there are indications that some republicans are now willing to look seriously at what is happening and raise an objection to the freefall into opportunism. It might be useful if members of Sinn Fein were to exact a promise from their president, not to meet and kowtow to George Bush when he visits Ireland this summer and moreover, be explicit about why he is doing so.

John Kelly

A 16th Century Englishman said that an ambassador is essentially an honest man who goes abroad to tell lies for his government. Sinn Fein’s South Armagh spokesmen are on the surface therefore well equipped for an overseas posting in the event of the party entering coalition in the South. The predictable attempt to denigrate John Kelly for his critique of the party diminishes Sinn Fein rather than the veteran republican.

This journal applauds John Kelly for his courage in speaking out. Far too many republicans of long standing and dedicated service to the cause share his unease but have avoided making their concerns known in case they might “rock the boat”. The consequences of this type of holding back and waiting for others to shoulder the responsibility is in contrast to the courage shown by so many of them elsewhere. Unfortunately, the reality of the Kelly resignation is that taken on its own, it will not change a lot. More people must speak up and more people must follow John Kelly’s example and simply say that they have had enough. As Kelly indicates, Irish republicanism is not a madcap militarist adventure yet it must have some firm and principled guidelines. Fourthwrite does not share John Kelly’s faith in the now defunct Good Friday Agreement yet we support his call for dialogue and not of the ambassadorial type.

FOURTHWRITE, PO BOX 31, Belfast BT127EE