Everybody Matters by Mary Robinson

Author:Mary Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

It is virtually impossible to describe the intensity of that occasion without understanding the context. There was no cease-fire and no peace process at that stage, and the violence was escalating. The situation was at an impasse, framed in terms of “win or lose.” The British government was determined that it would “win the war,” but the IRA would never concede “losing” it.

The British and Irish governments and the Northern Irish establishment took the trenchant view that to say anything other than “defeat the gun” was to support the gun. There was no room to bring any other perspective to the situation, such as urging that a human rights framework could facilitate a dialogue without blame being attributed. That came later, that breaking of the mould, through the work of human rights–oriented organisations such as the Committee on the Administration of Justice, based in Belfast, with the help of international and U.S.-based groups, notably the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (later Human Rights First), led by Mike Posner. They set a different agenda for discussions, one that allowed a scrutiny of government and of establishment obligations and practices in light of human rights standards.

But in 1993 the dynamic was that those using and supporting violence had to be isolated. There was no question of the state taking responsibility for, or taking part in, any dialogue or solution.

My practice of inviting groups and community representatives from Northern Ireland to visit Áras an Úachtaráin resulted, in turn, in invitations to travel to visit them, including an invitation to visit Republican West Belfast. Bride contacted Inez McCormack to see if she could “get me in” to West Belfast. Inez’s immediate reaction was yes, but I’d have to meet the local elected representatives there, one of whom was Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, the “political wing” of the IRA. If I tried to go without meeting Adams, it would be wrong; I would be disrespecting the community.

I knew this was going to be difficult. Nobody was going into West Belfast and nobody was meeting with Gerry Adams; he was still, at that time, subject to the broadcast ban, meaning it was illegal to broadcast his voice on radio or television. This community in West Belfast felt completely isolated: in its view, it was not a part of Britain. It flew the Irish flag, spoke the Irish language, asserted its Irish identity, but because of the taint of violence, of the gun, nobody in the Republic of Ireland was reaching out. No money was going in to West Belfast from anywhere; it was a no-go area for the RUC, the then–Northern Irish police force, and was effectively self-policed by the IRA. If the RUC did go in to the area, there would be an incident. Yet it had a vibrant community; it was full of good people working hard to counter the lack of facilities and resources, and the discrimination they suffered. That was what I wanted to honour.

Inez and I decided to construct

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