Brexit has ensured that the issue of the Partition of Ireland now the first item on the political agenda. The British border in Ireland has hardly been out of the news for the past five years.
The Partition of Ireland in 1920 was a refusal by the imperial British government led by the man from Wales, Lloyd George, to accept the democratic wishes of the Irish people expressed at the ballot box in the 1918 general election and the decision of the Irish elected representatives to form a government in Ireland. Rather than accept the wishes of the people of Ireland, the British government imposed a border on the island of Ireland and carved out an undemocratic statelet in the Northeast of Ireland based on a sectarian headcount. This arrangement ensured that the British imperialists maintained control of the industrialised part of Ireland and had significant influence in the rest of Ireland.
The enforced settlement has hindered the economic development of the island of Ireland. It created two separate political structures in both jurisdictions which did not serve the common good of all the people of the island. It marginalised a large section of the Irish people.
The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was fan attempt to right the wrong of Partition by peaceful political means. It provided for an all Ireland referendum on the British border in Ireland,
The Agreement allows for a Border referendum to be held in order to facilitate the creation of an All-island authority. It is hoped that when a majority vote for a new political dispensation on the island of Ireland and an end to the two political systems and two economies. It is also hoped that a new political dispensation will in time spell the end of sectarian politics on this island.
The primary aim of all concerned about Ireland’s Future is to create a Democracy for the first time ever. In the preparation for a Border poll the central issue will be how to construct a new democratic system on the island of Ireland that is acceptable to the two main traditions on this island. The aim is to create a new political system that protects the identities of the various groups on this island and provides legal guarantees for the rights of all citizens under a new constitution.
It is a big project but there is the talent in all political parties in Ireland to bring it about –if there is enough good will. It is the working out of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and it is challenging. It will need generosity on all sides if it is to be achieved but the achievement will bring lasting and positive results for all citizens on this island- and for future generations.
This project to establish a democracy in Ireland will need International support, especially the support of the European Union and of the USA. The time is now more favourable than ever before for a peaceful resolution of the age-old conflict. I would think that all interested in the furtherance of democratic principles will lend support to such a worthy project.
There are still many on the island of Ireland, not only among the pro-Unionist parties who do not want to discuss Ireland’s future – fearing the loss of their present political power and wealth.Brexit has refocused our minds on the central political issue on this island –the British imposed border around six north-eastern counties which cut them off from the rest of Ireland against the wishes of the Irish people expressed at the ballot box in 1918. That historical injustice which was an act of violence and a violation of democratic principles has to be resolved in the years ahead. It will need strong leadership in Dublin –something that has been sadly lacking in both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in recent years.
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