TREVOR RINGLAND,
Madam, - Article 3 of the Constitution of Ireland states:
"It is the firm will of the Irish Nation in harmony and friendship to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a United Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the Island . . ."
Thus the will of the Irish people, which the Government of the Republic of Ireland is obliged to promote and support, is the uniting of the people, even if the two countries on this island remain constitutionally apart.
As a Unionist I have no difficulty with the concept of unity of the people of this island and would support it, though I would argue, for a variety of reasons, that the best way to achieve it is by ensuring that the two countries remain constitutionally apart.
I have often made two points to my friends in the Republic of Ireland when debating the benefits or otherwise of uniting the two countries. The first is that not only has Irish nationalism never asked its Northern unionist neighbours what it would take to unite the two countries; but second, and even worse, the methods used have largely been the threat or actual use of violence and the concept of dominance rather than partnership. After all, what marriage proposal has ever succeeded where you beat up the intended partner, shoot the brother and sister, threaten the parents and bomb the family home?
Too often, it appears to unionists that the Irish Government supports the republican movement's actual ideology of trying to unite the countries and to hell with uniting this island's people. As such its abandonment of constitutional Irish nationalism (SDLP) and moderate unionism, which at the time of the referendum was the majority of unionism, is in direct contravention of the stated will of the people.
As a unionist I stand for uniting the people of Northern Ireland. I argue that unionists have to strive to create a peaceful, politically stable and economically prosperous Northern Ireland for the benefit of all the people. I have no doubt the SDLP has the same goal, albeit perhaps for the North of Ireland.
However, the achievement of that goal by both parties is being seriously undermined by the failure of the Irish and British governments to support those parties arguing for the building of relationships and trust rather than division. Their failure to act is destroying the Belfast Agreement.
Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party can never resolve the problems of Northern Ireland or this island and so surely it is time for those in authority who think otherwise to, as we say in Northern Ireland, "wise up".
The inability of the Irish Government to implement and support the will of the Irish people appears to be a return to sectarian politics. How many more Irish people, Protestant or Catholic, have to die because we do not support those striving for that prize greater than unity of the two countries - that of unity of this island's people. - Yours, etc.,
TREVOR RINGLAND, Tweskard Park, Belfast 4.