NCJ Number
91512
Date Published
1983
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the ideology, history, and tactics of the Protestant and Catholic terrorist extremist groups in Northern Ireland and assesses the prospects for peace.
Abstract
Protestant extremists in Northern Ireland fear political change that will bring them under the dictates of a Catholic majority in a single Irish state. The Protestant extremists, led by the Reverend Ian Paisley, use violence and intimidation against both Catholics and Protestants who seek a more equitable sharing of power between Protestants and Catholics in Ulster. Catholic terrorism, on the other hand, represented in the Provisional Irish Republican Army, claims to want a reunion between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, which enjoys a Catholic majority, but there are indications that the Provisional Irish Republican Army leaders seek a Marxist structure for the whole of Ireland. Terrorism of both extremes has only served to stiffen the opposition and fuel hostility in the adversary community. There is no simple political solution to the conflict. The best hope is for the healing of some of the wounds of sectarian conflict and hatred and a movement toward reconciliation and cooperation between the Catholic and Protestant communities. The will for peace and reconciliation must come from the people of Northern Ireland in both Protestant and Catholic communities. The governments and publics of both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland must show courage in working together to combat terrorism, to improve cross-border antiterrorist cooperation, and to encourage the moderate democratic parties of both communities in the North to work for a more stable and peaceful future.