Submission to The Irish Government
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A Realisation of Political Preferences
The Irish Government & Irish Sovereignty
A Submission to the Irish Government by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement
Preface
Sovereign governments must act in the capacity by which they are defined. A sovereign Irish government must be defined as a government elected by all the people of Ireland representing its 32 counties, the national territory, or a government endeavouring to function in this capacity predicated on the lawful principle that Irish sovereignty is inalienable and indefeasible.
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Since the foundation of the twenty six county state, and indeed one of the principle arguments for its creation, its declared aim and role has been to secure Irish sovereignty over the national territory determined as the thirty two counties of Ireland. This declared aim and role was not merely relegated to political and electoral rhetoric but given constitutional, legislative and political expression within the apparatus of the twenty six county state itself. Most notably;
1. Bunreacht na hEireann 1937
2. Republic of Ireland Act 1948-49
3. New Ireland Forum 1984
4. Supreme Court Ruling ( ‘Constitutional Imperative’ ) 1990
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The origins of the political ethos of these expressions are sourced in other expressions which predate the states existence;
1. The Proclamation of 1916
2. The Declaration of Independence 1919
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The distinction between the political expressions listed are that the former are expressions of intent, i.e. mechanisms to an objective, whereas the latter are declarations of objective, i.e. the goals that these mechanisms seek to secure. The conjoining agent between these expressions of intent and declared objectives is the government of the twenty six county state.
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The issue of sovereignty permeates both expressions of intent and declarations of objective. For our part the 32 County Sovereignty Movement sought to defend Irish sovereignty by lodging a legal submission to the United Nations, ( see Document Appendix ), upholding Irelands right to national sovereignty over the island of Ireland and challenging the British claim to sovereignty over six of Irelands thirty two counties. To date the British authorities have failed to respond to this challenge.
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The UN challenge is not solely a matter for the British government but is of central importance to any Irish administration also. The British claim to sovereignty over part of Ireland remains, thus contradicting the Proclamation of 1916, The Declaration of Independence in 1919, the political and constitutional findings of the New Ireland Forum report and the ruling of the Supreme Court rendering the re-integration of the national territory as a ‘constitutional imperative’.
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What arises from these observations is a seeming imbalance concerning the Irish administrations position on Irish sovereignty, as it relates to that administrations pronouncements regarding the issue of sovereignty, set against its political activity and conduct in pursuit of its restoration. The purpose of this submission is to address this imbalance and to attempt to define the role of the Irish government in resolving the continuing conflict between Ireland and our neighbouring island. To this end we would seek the Irish government’s engagement on the following;
1. Irish Sovereignty and its National Territory
2. British Sovereignty in Ireland
3. Irish Democracy and Irish Sovereignty
4. Declaration and Pursuit of Political Preferences
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The 32CSM strongly contend that as an Irish administration, such a government should view Irish national matters from a sovereign Irish democratic perspective. Equally we would submit that any democratic settlement, or strategy in pursuit thereof, must be predicated on Irish democracy at its maximum expression.
Irish Sovereignty and its National Territory
Ireland, in its subjugation as a British colony, was always addressed in terms as the whole island of Ireland. It was viewed geographically, culturally, ethnically, economically and politically as a distinct and separate region. This was the view of both the coloniser and the colonised. Ireland, as a national territory, was considered to be the island of Ireland.
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Ireland, in its efforts to end its subjugation as a British colony, particularly in the course of the last eighty years, has, at British military insistence, not been addressed as the whole island of Ireland. Against the will of the Irish people, and under military threat, Ireland was partitioned. The basis for this partition was to secure a numerical domination for a national minority within part of the island. As a consequence an artificial minority was created, to remain as such, within that partitioned sector to give a semblance of economic viability to it whereas the remainder of the Irish people in the other sector, the larger area, where subject to veto by a national minority concerning the constitutional status of the whole island. Not only does the cause of conflict remain between the two islands but its mechanism has engendered deep divisions amongst the Irish people themselves. This is what it was designed to achieve. Partition is the British perspective of Ireland.
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The 32 County Sovereignty Movement petition the Irish government to bring a sovereign Irish democratic perspective of our national position to bear as the bedrock for any political programme to end the conflict. Given the somewhat inconsistent history of the various twenty six county administration’s approach in this matter we call on the present administration to outline its position on the following;
1. Is the island of Ireland a natural political unit?
2. Is the island of Ireland the sovereign territory of the Irish people?
3. Should the island of Ireland be deemed the sovereign territory of the Irish people?
4. Is partition a violation of Irish sovereignty?
5. Is there any legislative prohibition, domestic or international, which prevents a twenty six county administration pursuing the issue of Irish sovereignty as it pertains to the whole island?
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British Sovereignty in Ireland
The provenance of British claims to sovereignty in Ireland is colonialist. Its modern expression, partition, is a colonial construct. Its maintenance is a continuation of colonial practice. Though some may argue that these terms are anachronistic their relevance to modern Ireland is to be found in our shared experience with other colonial regions as to the failures, injustice and conflict which befell us due to the imposition of colonial practice. The colonial nature of partition is demonstrated by over eighty years of empirical political proof which has witnessed conflict and sectarian division on an unprecedented scale. It must end completely.
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The resolution of any given problem commences with an expressed recognition that the problem, and the true nature of the problem, in fact exists. The international community, from the experience of two world conflicts, recognises that colonial practice, violations of sovereignty and denial of national self determination are problems to be addressed for what they are, causes of conflict.
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In consequence the 32CSM petition the Irish government to address;
1. Britain’s claim to sovereignty in Ireland is a cause of conflict.
2. Britain’s claim to sovereignty in Ireland is a colonial remnant.
3. The maintenance of partition is a colonial practice.
4. The maintenance of partition is a cause of division amongst the Irish people.
5. The fudging of ending colonial practice is a violation of the spirit of international law.
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The Irish nation has been victimised wherein the British are the authors of our national history. The Irish government, in its present format, is a product of that authorship. The 32CSM submit that it is the primary responsibility of any Irish administration to defend the sovereignty of our national territory and to ensure that the Irish people, free from outside interference, become the authors of our own history.
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Irish Democracy and Irish Sovereignty
The Irish people, as any other sovereign people in their own country, are entitled to representative government democratically elected without external impediment. Equally, the Irish people are entitled to democratically resolve internal national matters, as we see fit and prudent, by our own interpretation of them. In short the Irish people, as a sovereign people in our own country, are entitled to an Irish democratic framework, devoid of external impediment, in which to conduct our own affairs. At present no such democratic framework exists.
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An Irish democratic framework, as it pertains to the conflict in Ireland, represents a dual dynamic for resolving the conflict.
1. It is the ultimate expression of Irish sovereignty.
2. It offers real and meaningful democratic inclusion for all sections of the Irish people.
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The conflict in Ireland, due to its longevity, has created other conflicts, symptoms resulting from our sovereignty’s violation. Sectarian division amongst different sections of the Irish people, a mechanism of colonial occupation, have become so deeply entrenched as to warrant resolution in its own right. However it cannot be addressed independent of its parent cause. Attempts to do so, partitionist settlements, have consistently foundered because they are predicated upon accepting the undemocratic status quo. The relationship between sovereign integrity and democratic inclusion is inter-dependable and no less so in the Irish case.
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The 32CSM petition the Irish government to engage on the following democratic precepts;
1. A violation of Irish sovereignty is a violation of Irish democracy.
2. Partition is a violation of Irish sovereignty.
3. An Irish democratic framework offers maximum democratic inclusion for all the Irish people.
4. An Irish democratic framework is a dynamic to resolve the Irish/British conflict.
5. A settlement to the conflict must be predicated on Irish democracy.
Declaration of Political Preferences
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement declares our political preference for a sovereign independent Ireland. We base our preference as set out in our submission to the United Nations and invite all Irish and British political opinion to comment thereof.
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An Irish government has a duty to Irish aspirations as much as a British government has a duty to its own. Irish aspirations, both historic and contemporary, are for an independent sovereign 32 county nation. In recent political discourse the prognosis of Irish unity ‘by consent’ has come forward as the firm position of the Irish government. The 32CSM reject this analysis as wholly undemocratic and a clear negation of the Irish people’s right to national self determination without external influence.
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Be that as it may the 32CSM would like to address the political realities as observed and pronounced on by the Irish government and to inquire if its declared position on Irish unity is synonymous with its pursuit. Therefore the 32CSM call upon the Irish government for an official declaration of its preference for Irish Unity in tandem with its
political programme to realise Irish Unity.
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The nature of the conflict in Ireland is one which thrives on indecision, lack of clear direction and government ambiguity. People look to government for future stability and how that stability can be achieved. Constitutional and sovereign stability are crucial prerequisites for this and clear and decisive governmental views on these matters are essential. The Irish government has a duty to express, in these terms and on these matters, the rights and aspirations of the Irish people. Specifically the 32CSM would inquire of the Irish government if its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement is in keeping with its pursuit of ‘unity by consent’, In particular;
1. Does the Irish government view, for itself, the GFA as a mechanism toward Irish unity?
2. How is Unionist consent to be achieved?
3. Does the Irish government concede that under the terms of the GFA the union of the six counties with the rest of the United Kingdom could be permanent?
4. What international avenues are at the Irish government’s disposal to promote Irish unity?
5. How is engagement with the British government seeking their withdrawal from Ireland to be formalised under the auspices of the GFA?
6. Does the Irish government view Irish unity as inevitable?
7. Does the Irish government view Irish unity as probable?
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In making this submission to the Irish government the 32 County Sovereignty Movement endeavours to bring political awareness and influence to bear on securing Irish unity. Our analysis is focussed on exploring alternative routes to secure a just and peaceful settlement to the conflict in Ireland.
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ADDENDUM
In conjunction with this submission to the Irish government, and as part of our overall strategy to further peace and stability in Ireland, the 32CSM addressed similar submissions to both the British government and the broad unionist community seeking their views and analysis on specific themes we identified as pertinent to them and, in consequence, relevant to other parties to the conflict. (See Document Appendix) Briefly we sought British engagement on the theme of British longterm intentions towards Ireland and from the broad unionist community their views on the probability of Irish unity. The 32CSM would welcome encouragement from the Irish government to both these involved parties to engage positively and constructively with these submissions. We look forward to your considered responses.
