The following topic I am going to speak about sparks controversy all over the globe and has been an issue for centuries. The topic I am going to be discussing is all about the Irish Republican Army and their status as being terrorists to a minority and freedom fighters to majority of people. As an Irish-Scot with an Irish passport I feel very strongly towards this topic as well as having a strong point of view towards the volunteers of the IRA.
One of my many reasons why I believe the IRA are not terrorists is because on the 31st August 1944 the Provisional IRA (PIRA) called a ceasefire which resulted in ending most of the violence in a time called “the troubles” in Ireland. The PIRA ceasefire means the members of the Irish Republican Army should be regarded as “freedom fighters” to distinguish the difference between them and terrorist groups that would refuse to enter a political process. This is also what the “Northern” Ireland secretary Peter Mandelson said. So, does the IRA really qualify into being branded terrorists?
My second reason is through a man called Gerry Adams an Irish republican politician who has been president of Sinn Fein political party since 1983. He is committed to the peace process and has been tied to the IRA in multiple occasions. A famous quote by Mr Adams is “Making peace, I have found, is much harder than making war”. Now I don’t know any terrorists’ groups who have members in a political party and I also don’t know any who took part in a peace process and a ceasefire to stop violence in their country but I do know that it would be absolutely ridiculous to claim the IRA as terrorists when they have ties to a political party who was all about restoring peace in Ireland.
The definition of a terrorist is “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims”. Now as far as the argument of the IRA bombing in Manchester goes. The IRA told the British that a bomb was going to detonate in the Manchester city centre, so they had time to evacuate any civilians. When the bomb was detonated no civilians were killed. The reason for the bombing was to cost the British government money. A report from British newspapers said, “It targeted the city’s infrastructure and economy causing damage over £700 million”. Now if the IRA where terrorists then they would not have given the British enough time to evacuate the area and the number of civilian casualties would have been unthinkable. Clearly the IRA cared about civilians and therefore cannot be classified as terrorists since the definition of terrorist states “especially against civilians”. So surely you can’t think that they are terrorists?
During “the troubles” the IRA was branded a terrorist group by the British government, but the people of Ireland saw the IRA as a legit and proper army fighting against British occupation in Ireland. This is a case of “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
On January 30th, 1972, a peaceful protest in Derry turned into a violent slaughter house when the British Army shot 28 unarmed civilians during a peaceful march against British Occupation and being treated like a prisoner in their own country. So now we have the IRA, economic and infrastructure bombing in Manchester with no civilian casualties and the British army who shoot 28 UNARMED civilians during a PEACEFUL march. Also shooting UNARMED civilians is also a war crime.
James Connolly was in the British Army when they decided to invade Ireland. Connolly saw what the British Army where doing to the Irish People, left the British army, formed the Irish Citizen Army to then later forming the IRA. So here we have a Soldier in the British Army who cannot believe what the British Government is doing so he goes and joins the IRA. Who are the real “terrorists”?
I don’t condone terrorism and I don’t have a strong hatred towards the British Army or the Government, but I can think for myself and won’t let propaganda by the U.K effect what is right and wrong. Through my research and knowledge, I have come across that between 1969-1998 the British Army and the UDR shot and killed 151 civilians. This is higher than the republican and loyalist paramilitaries who died from the British Army. This makes me wonder why the IRA is branded as terrorists and the British Army are not. People will try to justify this by saying things like “because the army didn’t plant bombs in town centres” but it isn’t who is worse than whom, do you need bombs to spread terrorism? If killing 151 civilians can’t be looked at as an act of violence and intimidation I really don’t know what is then. Surely, YOU can’t think 151 dead civilians are acceptable.
Looking at statistics, what is the reason which allows the British army or even just the UDR (3:1 Civilian: Republican kill ratio) to escape the term of terrorist? The only reason the IRA are branded as terrorists is because they are not Government backed, IF the Irish Government backed the IRA I can almost guarantee the term “IRA TERRORIST” would not exist.
People like comparing the IRA to the so called I.S.I.S, so let’s compare the IRA to the British Army. The British have been involved in many historical events that involved mass civilian death: Bloody Sunday, Operation Motorman, Loyalist Collusion, Miami Show Band Massacre, Ballymurphy Massacre, Murder of Pat Finucane, and that’s not even half of them.
The truth is when you look at the argument from both sides like I have done and stop playing a game of “who is worse than who” you soon see that the IRA where a legitimate army fighting against an occupied Ireland, I could give you all the reasons in the world on why the IRA should not be labelled terrorists but it’s up to YOU to decide, the truth is; “One Man’s Terrorist Is another Man’s Freedom Fighter”
References
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/energy-government-and-defense-magazines/northern-ireland-omagh-bomb-nationalism-and-religion
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-32326431
- https://www.derryjournal.com/news/operation-motorman-top-secret-files-reveal-reasons-behind-invasion-of-nationalist-areas-1-7049705
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Should the IRA Be Considered Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?
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2022 Jun 29 [cited 2024 Apr 20].
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