Submission to British Government
Irish Sovereignty & British Politics in Ireland
Submission by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement to the British Government concerning longterm British policy towards Ireland.
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Preface
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The 32 County Sovereignty Movement is an Irish political movement whose central aim is the protection of Irish sovereignty and the seeking of the ending to the British violation of Irish sovereignty through its occupation of six of Ireland's thirty two counties, namely; Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone. To this end the 32CSM has organised itself throughout Ireland to pursue the objective of re-establishing the integrity of Irish national sovereignty in tandem with the integrity of our national territory, the ancient island of Ireland. This violation of our sovereignty is the cause of conflict between our two nations.
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The British violation of Irish sovereignty has, and continues to have, longterm detrimental consequences for the Irish people both in the fact of this violation and by the manner in which this violation is imposed.
Partition was the mechanism by which Britain sought to consolidate its presence in Ireland. The ethos of partition is division, not just of territory, but of people also. Since 1922 the politics of partition/division has been the dominant politics in Ireland. As a colonial mechanism it has engendered conflict in Ireland on two fronts, conflict between the Irish people themselves and conflict between the two peoples of our respective islands. The cause of these conflicts however have a singular root, Britain's violation of Irish sovereignty.
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The purpose of this political submission is to address this violation (the cause of conflict between our two nations and conflict within our nation,) in its totality as manifested by the fact of this violation and the manner in which this violation is administered. The 32CSM submit that both fact and manner are inextricably linked.
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British Violation of Irish Sovereignty.
The history of the relationship between our two nations is a history of conflict. It is a history of colonisation and resistance to that colonisation. It is an unresolved history. The 32CSM petition the British government, as a claimant of sovereignty over part of Ireland, to formally address this sovereign claim as it pertains to its legality in international law and to its contribution as the cause of conflict between our two peoples.
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International Law
As a result of prolonged and secret contact between republican representatives and representatives of the British establishment a process which became known as the 'peace process' was formulated. As details emerged it became clear that as a precondition to both formal British inclusion in this 'peace process' and as a predicate for any settlement thereof British sovereignty over the six aforementioned counties was to be expressly recognised by all parties included in the process. By default of this precondition all Irish interested parties had, in effect, to abandon, or commit to abandon, Irish claims to sovereignty over the territory of the island of Ireland. The cause of conflict was not to be addressed by this 'peace process'..
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The 32CSM rejected this entire approach as dangerously deficient in its ability to deliver a just peace between our two nations. It did so on three principle grounds;
A, Irish sovereignty is inalienable and indefeasable.
B, The Irish people were being asked to refute our right to national self- determination.
C, The parameters by which the Irish people could pursue, and defend, our right to self- determination were defined by the British government.
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This is unacceptable. In response to these circumstances the 32CSM sought to defend Irish sovereignty through the auspices of the United Nations by drafting a submission to that body challenging the legality of Britain's sovereign claim in Ireland. (A full copy is enclosed in the Document Appendix). Specifically it challenged the British claim as it pertained to the following precepts of international law:
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1. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
2. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
3. The United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
4. Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in
Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
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The 32CSM are calling on the British government to;
1. Formally respond to the legal challenge against its claim to sovereignty over part of Ireland.
2. Formally initiate a peace process to address the cause of conflict between our two nations.
British Governance in Ireland.
The manner in which British governance in Ireland was conducted was predicated on the maintenance of its presence through the fostering of division amongst the Irish people. It has created an appalling legacy for the Irish people. It has usurped democracy through the artificial creation of a national minority with the power of veto, enforced by the British government, over the majority of Irish people on the island of Ireland.
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Through enforced partition two distinct political traditions evolved, Unionist and Nationalist. Those of the Unionist persuasion, a minority on the island, pledged loyalty to the British state. Those of the Nationalist persuasion, a majority on the island, held allegiance to a sovereign independent Ireland. Both are Irish political realities. The political growth of both theses viewpoints developed along confrontational lines in which each saw the other as a threat to its political direction. This was the British objective. It was the mechanism by which it maintained its sovereign claim in Ireland.
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Although the divisions between these two Irish political views took many forms, most notably sectarianism, it remains a political fact that constitutional allegiances remains the dominant factor in determining political development and relationships between the two. The British government is central to this development.
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As details and the format of the secret contacts between republican representatives and British officials emerged the most notable public utterance from those concerned came from the then British Direct ruler in Ireland Peter Brooke in which he declared that;
"The British government have no selfish, strategic or economic reasons for remaining in Northern Ireland." (sic)
It was, to all intents and purposes, an attempt by the British government to declare itself neutral regarding its presence in Ireland and the conflict thereof. The 32CSM reject this declaration on the following grounds;
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1. As the claimant to sovereignty over the region in conflict the British government must be held fully accountable as to how that sovereign claim is administered.
2. As a claimant to sovereignty over the region in conflict the British government is automatically a party to that conflict.
3. As a claimant to sovereignty over the region in conflict the actions of the British government have a direct consequence in determining, or not, a resolution to the conflict.
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It is with these facts in mind that the 32CSM now petition the British government for a public declaration of its longterm Intentions towards Ireland and to specifically address the following issues as a fundamental necessity toward political stability and peaceful relations between our two peoples, namely;
1. Does the British government, at some future date, foresee the ending of the Union between the Six north eastern counties of Ireland and the UK?
2. Does the British government see the ending of the Union as probable?
3. Has the British government, as the claimed sovereign authority over the Six county region, any preference, in any field, between the maintenance of the Union and a Unitary sovereign Irish state?
4. Is the British government, as a reciprocal gesture to the dropping of the territorial claim by the Irish government to the entire island of Ireland as defined in Articles 2 & 3 of its Constitution, prepared, as a demonstration of its declared stance of having no selfish, strategic or economic reasons for remaining in the Six county region, to withdraw the British claim of sovereignty thereof?
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In making this submission to the British government the 32CSM reiterate our absolute commitment to the defence and re-establishing of the integrity of Irish sovereignty. We reiterate our firm conviction that the British violation of Irish sovereignty is the cause of conflict between our two nations and we hold that all processes or treaties thereof which do not address this core issue are incapable of constructing a just and lasting peace between our two nations. We look forward to your considered response.
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ADDENDUM
In tandem with this submission to the British government the 32CSM has forwarded a political submission to the leadership of Irish Unionism seeking its opinions and insights concerning the singular theme; The Probability of Irish Unity.
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The submission, entitled 'An Irish Democratic Framework, its Unionist Construct' (See Document Appendix) is an initiative designed to seek unionist engagement with their fellow Irish people as to how best plan for future political contingencies.
It has been forwarded to unionist representatives in the following fields;
1. Political
2. Economic and Business
3. Cultural
4. Academic
5. Social
6. Religious
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In brief 'An Irish Democratic Framework, its Unionist Construct' asks Irish Unionism to address the probability of Irish unity and its implications for its people. It asks this from a pragmatic and prudent perspective in that the format of any such unitary state should have at its core their perspective of its construct.
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The 32CSM calls on the British government to use its influence to encourage a positive Unionist engagement regarding this submission as a pragmatic and prudent exercise concerning Unionist longterm interests in Ireland.
