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| The Troubles is a neutral term for the period of violence from the late sixties to the mid-nineties involving various factions in ]. The neutrality of the term comes from an avoidance of any identification of a sole cause of the complex issues that are involved there, as this would inevitably be partisan. They are generally taken as beginning in the late ] and have claimed some 3,000 - 4,000 lives from all sides since then. | The Troubles is a neutral term for the period of violence from the late sixties to the mid-nineties involving various factions in ]. The neutrality of the term comes from an avoidance of any identification of a sole cause of the complex issues that are involved there, as this would inevitably be partisan. They are generally taken as beginning in the late ] and have claimed some 3,000 - 4,000 lives from all sides since then. | ||
| In general terms, the conflict was between Unionists ( |
In general terms, the conflict was between Unionists (or "loyalists"), who want the province to remain in the ], and Nationalists (or "republicans") who wish the province to become part of a united ]. Generally speaking (but not in all cases) Unionists are part of the ] majority of Northern Ireland, while Nationalist are usually ]. Catholics thought they were being treated unfairly and pressed for wide reforms, while Protestants were wary of sharing power with Catholics and often did not want to compromise. | ||
| There is a common distinction between the terms Unionist and Nationalist on the one hand, and Loyalist and Republican on the other. In this context, "Loyalist" and "Republican" generally imply support for violent methods and for paramilitary organisations, whereas the labels "Nationalist" and "Unionist" are normally reserved for those who favour constitutional means. | |||
| ⚫ | Violence was carried out by various groups, including the ] (also known as the IRA or "The Provos") |
||
| ⚫ | Violence was carried out by various groups, including the ] (also known as the IRA or "The Provos") and the ] on the Republican side, and the ] and the ] on the Loyalist side. These terrorist groups also produced splinter-groups and factions, and sometimes used cover names in an attempt at deniability, which confuses the picture further. | ||
| Quick overview: | |||
| The ] (Royal Ulster Constabulary), the police force in Northern Ireland, was largely protestant, not least because police officers living in Nationalist areas were particularly vulnerable to terrorist attack. The lack of Catholic officers in turn increased the sense of alienation in sections of the nationalist community. | |||
| A policing review, part of the ], has led to some reforms of policing, including more rigorous accountability and measures to increase the number of Catholic Officers, and the establishment of the ]. | |||
| The four main parties are: | |||
| Nationalist political parties: | Nationalist political parties: | ||
| *] (SDLP) | |||
| *] (President is ]) | *] (President is ]) | ||
| Unionist political parties: | Unionist political parties: | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] (Leader ]) | |||
| Republican paramilitary/terrorist groups: | |||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| Loyalist paramilitary/terrorist groups: | |||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
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| '''Research Material''' | '''Research Material''' | ||
| *http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ | |||
| *http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland | *http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland | ||
Revision as of 11:22, 26 March 2002
The Troubles is a neutral term for the period of violence from the late sixties to the mid-nineties involving various factions in Northern Ireland. The neutrality of the term comes from an avoidance of any identification of a sole cause of the complex issues that are involved there, as this would inevitably be partisan. They are generally taken as beginning in the late 1960's and have claimed some 3,000 - 4,000 lives from all sides since then.
In general terms, the conflict was between Unionists (or "loyalists"), who want the province to remain in the United Kingdom, and Nationalists (or "republicans") who wish the province to become part of a united Ireland. Generally speaking (but not in all cases) Unionists are part of the Protestant majority of Northern Ireland, while Nationalist are usually Catholic. Catholics thought they were being treated unfairly and pressed for wide reforms, while Protestants were wary of sharing power with Catholics and often did not want to compromise.
There is a common distinction between the terms Unionist and Nationalist on the one hand, and Loyalist and Republican on the other. In this context, "Loyalist" and "Republican" generally imply support for violent methods and for paramilitary organisations, whereas the labels "Nationalist" and "Unionist" are normally reserved for those who favour constitutional means.
Violence was carried out by various groups, including the Provisional Irish Republican Army (also known as the IRA or "The Provos") and the INLA on the Republican side, and the UVF and the UDA on the Loyalist side. These terrorist groups also produced splinter-groups and factions, and sometimes used cover names in an attempt at deniability, which confuses the picture further.
The RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), the police force in Northern Ireland, was largely protestant, not least because police officers living in Nationalist areas were particularly vulnerable to terrorist attack. The lack of Catholic officers in turn increased the sense of alienation in sections of the nationalist community.
A policing review, part of the Good Friday Agreement, has led to some reforms of policing, including more rigorous accountability and measures to increase the number of Catholic Officers, and the establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The four main parties are:
Nationalist political parties:
- Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
- Sinn Fein (President is Gerry Adams)
Unionist political parties:
Republican paramilitary/terrorist groups:
Loyalist paramilitary/terrorist groups:
This needs work. The nature of such violence and the relations of the various groups and their motives and tactics needs to be charted in detail. Though violence in whatever form it takes is terrible, there is a differenve between defensive military activity and knowingly targeting inocent civilians e.g. the "Real" IRA's killings at Omagh, or Bloody Sunday.
The Bloody Sunday in 1972 was one of the key events during The Troubles. From 1971, under the Special Powers Act there was Internment (see Long Kesh).
Currently, the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom are working together closely and peacefully to seek a solution and have been doing so for some time. There is no simple solution to The Troubles and it can only be hoped that the current paramilitary ceasefire holds and that relative peace is maintained in Northern Ireland for the sake of all its inhabitants.
It is widely held by many in both Britian and Northern Ireland that The Troubles came to an end in the mid-nineties with the various paramilitary cease-fires that were established. The period that came after The Troubles was the Northern Ireland peace process, the Good Friday Agreement.
Research Material