English Occupation Makes Orange Bigotry Possible

By William Gartland, Letter to the editor, 6 June 1996

Whenever the subject of British-occupied Ireland gains the attention of the American media the pundits and spinmeisters tell us that the subject is almost impossible to fathom.

But let us take a look at the facts. The Orange Unionists make two claims to support their right to rule.

The first claim is that they constitute a majority and that the democratic majority has a sacred right to rule. This seems reasonable but the fact is the British parliament ignored the results of the 1918 general election in which the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland supported the parties demanding an end to the British presence in Ireland. In 1920, with bayonets fixed, Britain ripped six counties outof the nine counties comprising Ulster in order to create that artificial majority.

Two of those counties, Tyrone and Fermanah had and still have Catholic majorities. Their rights to affirm the will of the majority were completely ignored.

The second claim of the Orange faction is that they have a right to practice their British traditions. This too seems plausible until we realize that the British people in poll after poll have repudiated this claim. They absolutely refuse to identify with the bigots who preach Protestant supremacy.

The British people know that the Orange Unionists simply wrap their bigotry in the Union Jack and pretend that it is patriotism as they do every July 12th tossing pennies, along with their expressions of contempt, into the Catholic ghettos, celebrating their conquest over over three centuries ago.

Such behavior, as exhibited by this bigoted mentality, would be seen as simple and unadulterated bigotry if practiced against blacks or other minorities in the United States. It would be seen simply as the Ku Klux Klan mindset at work.

It is British sovereignty in the north of Ireland that has made the rule of Orange bigotry possible. This bigotry can only be ended when that sovereignty comes to an end. The peace conference can only bring peace and an end to bigotry in the north of Ireland if Britain agrees to end her 800 year presence in the island.

William Gartland
Rio, WI 53960
nord@atw.fullfeed.com