Posted on 05/30/2006 1:19:49 PM PDT by Irish_Thatcherite
IRA were behind 48pc of Troubles murders A UNIVERSITY of Ulster academic yesterday blamed the IRA for the overwhelming majority of murders during the Troubles.
Henry Patterson, Professor of History at Jordanstown, challenged the view that the Northern Ireland conflict was a simple "war of liberation" by republicans against colonial interests and said there were key differences between the Troubles in Northern Ireland and struggles in Africa and Latin America. He told the sixth International Conference of The Spanish Association for Irish Studies at the University of Valladolid in Spain that the Provisional IRA was responsible for 48 per cent of deaths while the RUC was responsible for just 1.4 per cent and the UDR 0.2 per cent.
Mr Patterson pointed out that even if claims of widespread collusion between state forces and loyalist paramilitaries were true and 50 per cent of those killed by loyalists were added to the security forces' figure, it would still amount to only 17 per cent of all deaths.
In an address entitled War of National Liberation or Ethnic Cleansing: IRA violence in Fermanagh during the Troubles, Prof Patterson examined the IRA campaign in the county. Prof Patterson recalled how the IRA in Fermanagh had carried out a number of widely-condemned killings including the Enniskillen Poppy Day bombing, and said many unionists believed the campaign in the county was a form of ethnic cleansing.
"No doubt many Provisionals then and now would sincerely and forcefully deny that their campaign in Fermanagh was a form of ethnic cleansing," he said. "As we have seen, most of the Protestants killed were in the security forces, and Fermanagh did not experience the wholesale evacuation of Protestants that occurred in West Cork during the War of Independence. "Yet, that the killings struck at the Protestant community's morale, sense of security and belonging in the area was undeniable. "It was being made clear to them that they could continue to live in Fermanagh, but only on terms defined by the Provisional IRA." Prof Patterson said the conflicting views of the Troubles was it a war of liberation or ethnic cleansing? has been one of the reasons for the unease with the peace process among the unionist community. 30 May 2006
Actually, I do take offence to that!!!
People who sign up here supporting terrorism are trolls, plain and simple - pointing that self-evident fact out does not make me a troll... geeez!
Anyway, I know you are not a troll. As it were, I usually only see a lot of the Brits and Irish pop up only on IRA related threads, usually post nothing positive, and then disappear. I view that as trolling. I usually don't get involved in IRA threads, this is the first time I have in well over a year. I hope you see where I am coming from here, more positive, less negative, and everyone would be much happier, lol.
Also, I don't believe most of the IRA supporters here support the actual methods the splinter groups like PIRA and The Real IRA use, they more or less support "the cause", or better yet, the ends, not the means. I think everyone would prefer no more bloodshed. I quite frankly am sick of the whole thing. You also have to remember, the reason why so many Americans are of Irish descent, and why they still hold so much animosity, is because they are raised to think like that, and are here because of the famine, so the anger is likely to be stronger here than in the Republic.
Just my thoughts.
Regards,
Theoden
The little teeny weeny amount of respect I may have had for the IRA went away when Gerry Adams went to Cuber and praised Fidel Castro.
I usually only see a lot of the Brits and Irish pop up only on IRA related threads, usually post nothing positive, and then disappear. I view that as trolling.
Maybe that's because it's one of the most pressing issues in this part of the world, in any case, a lot of people here just post to certain types of threads, that's just who they are - it isn't trolling. Also, a lot here on FR are not on-line here very often - so they prioritize certain threads.
Also, I don't believe most of the IRA supporters here support the actual methods the splinter groups like PIRA and The Real IRA use...
It's difficult to tell whether they do support those methods or not, if they do, they know better than to come out and say it on a conservative forum - but, the bottom line is, the moral compass clearly needs calibrating if they make moral equivalents of the IRA and the British.
The main reason I use the label 'troll', and the main reason I flame those individuals a lot, is basically because I could never get a reasoned response from the majority in the beginning - to tell them a few truths about the true nature of the IRA would incur labels like 'Orangeman' or 'Brit-apologist' - I figure that 'troll' is a well earned label when they refuse to listen to someone who's actually living in Ireland.
My apologies if I sounded a bit harsh before,
I_T.
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I'm still waiting for an unequivocal condemnation for the 1800 innocent civilians murdered by the IRA - in fact I'm still waiting for an unequivocal condemnation for the murder of members of the British security forces by the IRA.
I'm still waiting for you to unequivocally condemn the IRA.
Yeah, I_T! As an Irishman, you're supposed to have an innate ability to insult someone and make it sound like a complement!
Rep. Peter King is an American 'friend' of the IRA.
Him an Ted Kennedy!!
Maybe.. his post through me off guard somewhat.
There are only two 'european countries' I will someday visit, Ireland and Scotland. I intend on flying into Ireland first and leaving via Scotland, without ever setting foot in England. Get the drift?
I'm afraid you are going to have to explain.
England isn't as safe to visit as Ireland and Scotland. As a writer, my research won't be in England.
That's true.
It's taking you a very long time to unequivocally condemn Sinn Fein/IRA...
I don't unequivocally condemn the IRA, though certainly some actions of the IRA should be condemned. More broadly, I don't condemn political violence in all circumstances. I stand by my original post: this "study" is a propaganda exercise that adds nothing to the knowledge of what happened and fails to prove its contention that IRA activities in Fermanagh constituted "ethnic cleansing", or even sectarian cleansing.
You should condemn it in all circumstances, and that article is true - the IRA are responsible for the bulk of the murders in NI.
Apart from the fact that the first sectarian shooting of the modern Troubles was a UVF operation, that the first bombing was UVF, and that the Protestants burned down large sections of Catholic areas in retaliaion for the catholics having th temerity to demand civil right before the Provisionals ever fired a shot, you might have a point
First of all, Newbie, why did you resurrect a 6 month old thread?
Second of all, do you unequivically condemn all IRA activity?
If the answer is anything other than a simple 'yes', you are a troll, end of story!
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