John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996 ome !

uotations
Accommodation of difference "#$ %%% accommodation o& di&&erence is the onl' basis &or "eace and stabilit' in our di(ided societ' Alienation "#6 %%% alienation is a des"erate de(elo"ment within minorities because it wea)ens their coherence, erodes their &aith in "ro*ress and *i(es (iolence the o""ortunit' to ta)e root "+, %%% rein&orcin* the identit' o& one section o& the communit' while i*norin* the other was coercion o& the other% it be*ot alienation% -lienation be*ot (iolence% (iolence be*ot re"ression Analysis "1,1 %%% care&ul anal'sis will ha(e to re"lace slo*ans "1,# %%% we ha(e to loo) at the &acts, not at the illusions Anglo-Irish Agreement ",, %%% it made it im"licitl' clear that .ritain has no interest o& her own, strate*ic or otherwise, in remainin* in Ireland and that Irish unit' is a matter &or those Irish "eo"le who want it "ersuadin* those Irish "eo"le who do not% "1#6 %%% such a*reement between /nionists and 0ationalists in Ireland should be much easier than it was &i&t' 'ears a*o Bigotry "+1 %%% our o""onents out did each other in intransi*ence and bi*otr' Blinkered "1,$ %%% the most blin)ered "oliticians and "aramilitaries are aware that the desire &or "eace is shared b' the "eo"le, Ireland, b' /nionist and 0ationalist, as well as b' Irish communities throu*hout the world% British and Irish governments "$2 %%% let them ma)e a 3oint declaration that the di(isions amon* the "eo"le o& Ireland and the "re3udices that are at their root are the re*rettable conse4uences o& our histor' and are not in the best interests o& the "eo"le o& Ireland or o& the 5uro"ean /nion%%%that the' ha(e decided to build institutions in Ireland, 0orth and outh %% to wor) the common *round

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
British influence "111 %%% there is a stron* settler element in the dee"-seated &ear o& re(en*e which underlies the sie*e mentalit' "11# %%% the challen*e that we now &ace is to remo(e the last remainin* le*ac' o& im"erialism in 5uro"e - the dee" di(isions amon* our island "eo"le British-Irish quarrel "$6 %%% the .ritish-Irish 4uarrel is 5uro"ean in its ori*ins %%% 5n*land saw Ireland as the bac) door &or her 5uro"ean enemies and mo(ed into Ireland to de&end her own interests, with all the serious conse4uences &or the Irish "eo"le% "1#6 %%% an e(er closer union e7ists between .ritain and Ireland in the new 5uro"e Centralisation "121 %%% it is si*ni&icant that the de*ree o& centralisation in both 3urisdictions is intimatel' connected with a &ailure to &ind a consensus throu*hout Ireland on suitable &orms o& *o(ernment and indeed to our &ailure to achie(e ma7imum economic de(elo"ments Clinton "16$ %%% .ill 8linton "ut "eace in Ireland u""ermost on his a*enda Colonise "11$ %%% as the onl' state in the 5uro"ean /nion to ha(e been colonised rather than to ha(e colonised %%% as a countr' that has su&&ered &amine and under-de(elo"ment, we )now that these hardshi"s and obscenities are not sim"l' the "roducts o& natural disasters but rather result &rom e7"loitation, une4ual relationshi"s, un3ust economic relationshi"s, and an indi&&erence to our common humanit' Common ground "1#1 %%% in Derr' we ha(e created a team s"irit %%% we ha(e created an institution which res"ects di&&erence, but wor)s the common *round to*ether, and the common *round is the cit' Community "#1 %%% these two communities in 0orthern Ireland, 8atholic and Protestant, 0ationalist and /nionist, ha(e both beha(ed li)e threatened minorities and onl' b' remo(in* the &ears which the' both &eel can a 3ust and durable solution be &ound Consensus "61 %%% when we loo) at the /nited tates o& -merica and see a countr' o& broad and dee" di&&erences "rotected b' a "olitical consensus, it is ironic to realise that "eo"le &rom the Irish

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
Protestant tradition hel"ed to &ashion the declaration o& inde"endence, the constitution and the bill o& ri*hts Constitution 1937 "66 %%% the 3urisdiction o& the constitution did not a""l' in "ractice or in realit' to the 0orth o& Ireland Dias ora "121 %%% a "olitical or*anisation which accommodates the di&&erent traditions on our island and which embraces, and ma)es use o&, the dias"ora %%% de(ise a settlement which *uarantees the identit' and status o& e(er'one in Ireland, irres"ecti(e o& "olitics, as well as e(er'one who is Irish, irres"ecti(e o& *eo*ra"h' Diversity "61 %%% the acce"tance o& di(ersit' is the essence o& real unit' Downin* treet Declaration 9Dec 1996: "92 %%% the .ritish *o(ernment declared that it no lon*er has an' sel&ish, strate*ic or economic interests in Ireland, and that it is committed onl' to "romotin* a*reement between the di(ided "eo"le o& Ireland Dri feed "1#9 %%% a west )e"t ali(e on a dri" &eed o& trans&er "a'ments would not ultimatel' bene&it the east, either "oliticall' or economicall' ; balanced de(elo"ment is in our collecti(e interests %%% it re4uires a new model o& centre-"eri"her' relations, which I would term "ol'centric %%% Derr' is one o& the &ew e7"andin* centres in the west e pluribus unum "111 %%% &rom man' we are one % it cannot be said too o&ten< it wor)s !ducation "1 %%% what has trans&ormed Derr' o(er the "ast thirt' or &ort' 'ears is the introduction o& "ublic education &or all "#1 %%% its "ower &or the material and social ad(ancement o& the indi(idual and o& his or her communit' !uro ean "nion "11+ %%% all o& the (arious elements which *o to ma)e u" a sin*le "olitical and economic entit' are bein* mo(ed into "lace %%% Ireland is becomin* ra"idl' one econom' %%% it ma)es sense &or businesses in both "arts o& the island to *ear themsel(es on an all-Ireland scale, in order to &ace the challen*e o& com"etition in the sin*le mar)et

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
!#clusivism "1#6 %%% the e7clusi(ism which unionism a""ears to re"resent in our societ' is in total contradiction o& those (alues 9&reedom o& conscience, libert' o& the indi(idual,ci(il and reli*ious &reedoms: that Protestantism re"resents in world culture !#clusivity "2, %%% the central and consistent mista)e o& Irish Protestantism is e7clusi(it' %%% it is sim"l' another word &or /nionism %%% encoura*ement *i(en b' centuries o& .ritish "olic' to maintain a se"arate and e7clusi(e e7istence a"art &rom the other tradition in Ireland $ear "+2 %%% the assum"tion which underlies /nionist &ear and which "aral'ses mo(ement is that the' cannot trust the rest o& this island to *uarantee their ci(il and reli*ious libert' $lag ", %%% because 'ou can't eat a &la* ", %%% a &la* should s'mbolise the unit' o& the whole communit' $orce "1,+ %%% &orce, &rom whate(er 4uarter, can onl' "er"etuate, not resol(e the con&lict %%% "eace must be the "eo"le's "eace "21 %%% the /nionists created the 1916 reaction= the belie& that the onl' thin* the .ritish understand is &orce $rame%ork "#9 %%% the "roblem can best be resol(ed i& the &ramewor) o& the solution is the &ramewor) o& the "roblem "21 %%% within that &ramewor) it is m' ho"e that we can build a more "ositi(e, stable and lastin* relationshi" amon* the "eo"le o& this island &arem "161 %%% we do not e7"ect the centre to sol(e our "roblems % we e7"ect it to ma)e it "ossible &or us to resol(e them oursel(es % we are "ol'*amists% rather than "ut all our ho"es in the .el&ast or >ondon bas)ets, we loo) &or o""ortunities and "artnershi"s with an entire harem o& centres "161 %%% in a "ol'centric world, "romiscuit' is an ad(anta*e

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
&eritage "#$ %%% there can be no solution to our "roblem which see)s to destro' or to crush the Protestant herita*e in Ireland &istory ", %%% m' 5uro"ean e7"erience allowed me to stud' Irish histor' in an ob3ecti(e wa' and in&luenced m' subse4uent thin)in* (er' hea(il' %%% I could *ras" the real nature o& the "roblem "1,$ %%% the time has come to lea(e the "ast behind and let histor' be the 3ud*e &ousing "#, %%% this "ro"osal too) "ublic housin* allocation out o& the hands o& local /nionist "oliticians &ume-Adams 1993 "9, %%% the challen*e was to harness all resources, "articularl' the .ritish *o(ernment's, in order to brin* about such an a*reement Ireland and Britain "$, %%% both .ritain and Ireland are members o& the 5uro"ean /nion and both its "eo"les ha(e (oted in re&erenda &or such membershi" %%% no one could ar*ue that .ritain is in Ireland toda' de&endin* either militar' or economic interests Irish "6$ %%% b' the Irish "eo"le I mean all the "eo"le who li(e on this island %%% the healin* o& di(isions between 8atholic and Protestant in Ireland, howe(er di&&icult that ma' be, is the ma3or challen*e and the ma3or "riorit' &acin* those who wish to e7ercise the sel&-determination o& all the Irish "eo"le and establish "ermanent "eace in Ireland "169 %%% the Irish are the lar*est *rou" o& wanderin* "eo"le in the world "1,1 %%% m' (ision o& a new Ireland, in a new 5uro"e, in a new world 'ustice "9 %%% to as) &or 3ustice was to 4uestion the whole "hiloso"h' o& the state (ennedy - &ume "#+ the dream "19 one man can ma)e a di&&erence, but e(er' man should tr'% John ? @enned'

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
"#+ the realit' "#2 in 0orthern Ireland, we now ha(e the hi*hest number o& "risoners "er head o& "o"ulation in western 5uro"e - in an area where, thirt' 'ears a*o, serious crime was "racticall' un)nown )aager "126 %%% we ha(e a ri*ht to e7"ect o& /nionists that the' demonstrate their su""ort &or such an a*reement, rather than conduct (ain attem"ts to maintain their su"remac' or barricade themsel(es inside an outdated and sel&-deludin* laa*er %% neither can the two traditions in 0orthern Ireland li(e a"art &rom each other, nor can one thri(e at the e7"ense o& the other )asting eace "1#2 %%% what we must achie(e, i& we are to ha(e lastin* "eace, is a*reement on how we li(e to*ether on the island o& Ireland *artin )uther (ing The ci(il ri*hts mo(ement's strate*' o& non-(iolence was *reatl' in&luenced b' Aartin >uther @in*'s "hiloso"h' - Don't retaliate, let the world see who the real a**ressor is - that was our &undamental messa*e to our &ellow marchers when we were attac)ed b' baton-wieldin* "olice% *ind-set "29 %%% the /nionist mind-set, which is Bwe are a minorit' in Ireland, so to "rotect oursel(es we must hold all "ower in our hands and e7clude e(er'one elseB "119 %%% our ne7t ma3or challen*e= to reach a*reement between two &undamentall' di&&erent mindsets -- the /nionist and the 0ationalist +ation "121 %%% man', &rom both traditions, still re*ard themsel(es as "art o& the Irish nation ,eace ",9 %%% the .ritish *o(ernment ha(e "ut "eace in Ireland at the to" o& the a*enda ,earse "111 %%% the *hosts o& our nation, to "ara"hrase Pearse, ma' ha(e been a""eased enou*h% it is now time &or the li(in* ,erce tion "62 %%% the "rota*onists do act in the li*ht o& their interests as the' "ercei(e them, thou*h their "erce"tions are sometimes mista)en

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
,etty "+2 %%% the /nionists had become a "ett' "eo"le% The' re"resented themsel(es as the de&enders and "rotectors o& the Protestant herita*e in Ireland%%%% no one had done more to destro' it %%% a "athetic and leaderless bunch o& "oliticians who did not e(en acce"t the le*itimac' o& the 0orthern Ireland state created &or them ,olitical change "6# %%% the "olitical role o& the .ritish has been to allow the sus"icions, sel&-doubts and "re3udices o& /nionists to dictate the boundaries o& "olitical chan*e in Ireland and to restrict the de(elo"ment o& relations between .ritain and Ireland ,re-udices "126 %%% the healin* "rocess must be*in% the old "re3udices and hatreds will "ro*ressi(el' dissol(e% the new Ireland o& the the twent'-&irst centur' will emer*e out o& that "rocess % it will be an Ireland based on di(ersit' rather de(otion to homo*eneit' % 8atholic, Protestant and dissenter will come to*ether on our small island and at last the *un will ha(e no role in the the "olitics o& our land .eal Ireland "+$ %%% the re"ublican de&inition o& Ireland bears no relation to the real Ireland, with its rich di(ersit' o& traditions and culture .elationshi s "111 %%% it is essential to tac)le the "roblem on a holistic rather than a reductionist le(el% we must assess "roblems within their wider conte7t and de(elo" new relationshi"s and structures .ights "9 %%% the ci(il ri*hts mo(ement called into 4uestion the &undamental (alidit' o& the state in 0orthern Ireland "1#, %%% it is "eo"le who ha(e ri*hts, not an abstract "iece o& land ; humanit' transcends nationalit' or identit' .oots "1,1 %%% i& we e7amine our own Irish roots on this island we will see that the blood o& the Irish is the most di(erse in the world C Ailesian, 8eltic, Vi)in*, 0orman, "anish, cottish and 5n*lish /D), "+6 %%% in 19+6, we had not 'et recei(ed an' hel" &rom the "eo"le who bore res"onsibilit' &or our ni*htmare, namel' the .ritish *o(ernment ; we were the (ictims, not o& mere ne*lect, but o& conscious and male(olent contem"t %%% the .ritish *o(ernment had no "olic' on 0orthern Ireland

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
/overeignty "11# %%% shared so(erei*nt' and interde"endence are the means b' which we can ma7imise democratic "olic'-ma)in* "12, %%% the .ritish *o(ernment are &ond o& remindin* e(er'one that the' are the so(erei*n authorit' in 0orthern Ireland 0hreat "62 %%% Dublin and Irish o"inion *enerall' clearl' intend no threat to /nionists 0ogether "6 %%% wor)in* to*ether &or oursel(es 0ruth "1,9 %%% we ha(e to tell "eo"le the truth, howe(er uncom&ortable it ma' be %%% we must loo) at the realit' o& our di(isions and conduct an audit o& the (arious traditions in order to decide which as"ects are worth' o& "reser(ation and which would be better consi*ned to a museum "( olicy "62 ; I also belie(e that the "erennial .ritish (iew o& the "roblem as 'their "roblem' and not 'ours' is &undamentall' wron*= .ritain is, in &act, included in the 4uarrel as a central "rota*onist, and must be centrall' in(ol(ed in that solution% ; >ondon, &or its "art, e7ercises a reluctant so(erei*nt' in 0orthern Ireland, while Dublin maintains a somewhat reluctant claim to that so(erei*nt'% "66 ; The onl' *round o& their "olic' is the reiterated *uarantee that 0orthern Ireland shall remain a "art o& the /nited @in*dom as lon* as a ma3orit' o& the electorate o& 0orthern Ireland so desire% "6$ ; Dne initiati(e that almost succeeded was the unnin*dale -*reement o& 19$6 between the .ritish and Irish *o(ernments and the "rinci"al "arties in 0orthern Ireland% This established a "ower-sharin* *o(ernment containin* the re"resentati(es o& both sections o& the communit' in 0orthern Ireland and acce"ted the "rinci"le o& a 8ouncil o& Ireland% The 8ouncil would "ro(ide a &orum &or north-south co-o"eration as well as a means o& e7"ression &or the Irish nationalist as"iration, while 0orthern Ireland would continue to be a "art o& the /nited @in*dom% "69 ; .ut the real "roblem wasn't 3ust relations within 0orthern Ireland, it was a .ritish-Irish "roblem% %% Ee ar*ued that the time had come &or both *o(ernments to wor) to*ether to sol(e the "roblem% ",1 ; The &irst ma3or ste" on that road was a*reein* in 19+1 to set u" the -n*lo-Irish Inter*o(ernmental 8ouncil% "+6 ; In 19+6, we had not recei(ed an' hel" &rom the "eo"le who bore res"onsibilit' &or our ni*htmare, namel' the .ritish *o(ernment% %% Ee were the (ictims, not o& mere ne*lect, but o& conscious and male(olent contem"t% %% ?or the truth was that the .ritish *o(ernment had no "olic'

John Hume, 'Personal Views - Politics, Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland,' Town House, Dublin, 1996
on 0orthern Ireland% "+, ; Ehen the D>P as)ed the .ritish to chan*e the basis o& their "olic' we were accused o& 'coercion' o& the unionists% "nionists "#$ %%% the' har) bac) to the "ast and s"ea) o& the &uture onl' with &ear and &orebodin*, a "aranoia %%% a sie*e mentalit', rooted in insecurit', in "re3udice, in &ear o& domination "#9 %%% the /nionists ha(e to be brou*ht to see that the' cannot de&' the will o& the .ritish "arliament to which the' "ro&ess lo'alt' %%% in this wa' the' could be liberated &rom the "rison into which the' ha(e loc)ed themsel(es "6$ %%% 9the border: has rein&orced the laa*er mentalit' o& the /nionist "eo"le ",, %%% the a*reement too) nothin* awa' &rom the ri*hts or concrete interests o& /nionists, nor did it diminish in an' wa' their "olitical, cultural or s"iritual herita*e "26 %%% their "olitical beha(iour can onl' be understood i& the' are seen, as the' see themsel(es to be, as a threatened minorit' on the island o& Ireland% theirs are the "olitics o& the besie*ed %%% se(eral ha(e e7"ressed concern about the trustworthiness o& the .ritish "126 %%% the challen*e &or /nionists and their leaders is to "roduce a modern statement o& their ideals, their le*itimate interests and their as"irations % would-be modernisers who tr' to "retend that all that matters is their relationshi" with the /@ are missin* the real "oint % - de&ensi(e and insecure /nionism does us all a disser(ice