Opinion - Editorials   

IRA'S REALITY CHECK, THE LTTE'S TOO

ARMED GROUPS FIGHTING political battles must not be allowed to get away with criminal violence by legitimising it in the name of the cause. This is the strong message from the mess in which the Irish Republican Army now finds itself following the murder of Robert McCartney, a Catholic, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Public anger against the group for its alleged involvement in the crime refuses to go away. Instead, the gruesome killing has prompted others to come forward with their own experiences of the IRA's criminality, ranging from murder and "justice" beatings to extortion. This is unprecedented in a place where the IRA commanded fearful respect until recently. The public reaction forced the group to make a statement admitting that some of its men were directly involved. But its apparently conciliatory offer to shoot the men responsible only ended up incensing people, all the more. The murder, and a $50 million bank robbery last December in which the IRA is the prime suspect, have silenced even the most vocal supporters of the group. Its refusal to renounce the armed struggle for a united Ireland and resistance to decommissioning its weapons remain the main obstacle to the peace initiative in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, has tried to distance itself from the murder. But the identities of the two are so blended that the party cannot duck blame for the recent happenings. Sinn Fein aspires to be accepted as a modern, democratic party but its failure to bring sufficient pressure on the IRA to disband and give up arms prevents it from being recognised as a credible force. The cool reception to the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, in the United States, where the Republican cause counts on the support of a number of Irish-American politicians and the vast Irish immigrant community, was a reality check for the party that the IRA is more a liability than an asset. For the first time, the White House disinvited Mr. Adams to the traditional party for St. Patrick's Day, an Irish Catholic feast, and instead invited the family of the murdered man. Senator Edward Kennedy, one of Sinn Fein's strongest supporters, cancelled a meeting with Mr. Adams. The IRA declared a ceasefire in its armed struggle against the British in 1997, and a year later Sinn Fein signed the Good Friday agreement to share power in Northern Ireland. In December 2004, a renewed effort at power-sharing between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Union Party came close to striking a deal but fell through over the disarmament issue. Will the constructive pressure from across the Atlantic in the wake of the McCartney killing finally oblige the IRA to give up arms? Nobody can answer the question with any confidence at this point.

There is a lesson from the IRA's current troubles for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This Pol Potist organisation rules over the Tamils in much of North-East Sri Lanka as their self-proclaimed "sole representative" through a campaign of terror that has featured dozens of killings since the February 2002 ceasefire, intimidation, extortion, and plain gangsterism. Matters are far worse in LTTE-controlled areas in Sri Lanka than in the IRA's patch of Northern Ireland. For one thing, the subservience of the `moderates' — constituents of the Tamil National Alliance — to the LTTE is in a class all by itself; this cannot be compared with the relationship between Sinn Fein and the IRA. Tamils actively canvassing international support against the LTTE's criminal violence do not carry as much clout as the McCartney sisters. But their voices are stronger than they used to be. Some day in North-East Sri Lanka too, the worm will turn.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

GET THE SCIENCE RIGHT IN SCHOOLS
IRA'S REALITY CHECK, THE LTTE'S TOO
Needed, a constructive Opposition
Righting a wrong
Restoring the balance
Visa row
Not viable
Unacceptable

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu