We should be inspired by the collective Northern Irish political reaction to a new series of terrorist attacks in the British region.
Regardless of their views on the rights or wrongs of British control over Northern Ireland, all major politicians have come out in strong condemnation of what’s happened over the past few days. It’s relevant because on Monday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland conducted a controlled detonation of a suspected car bomb in Londonderry county. This follows a car bomb detonation outside a Derry courthouse on Saturday evening. Both vehicles were carjacked by suspected members of the New Irish Republican Army, a terrorist group opposed to the 1999 Good Friday peace agreement.
But the political response has been inspiring. First up, Arlene Foster, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party.
This pointless act of terror must be condemned in the strongest terms. Only hurts the people of the City.
Perpetrated by people with no regard for life.
Grateful to our emergency services for their swift actions which helped ensure there have been no fatalities or injuries. https://t.co/IMJ7Dn9rAa— Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) January 19, 2019
But Foster was matched by her ideological opposites in the Irish republican party of Sinn Fein. Its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, told the BBC that the incident was a “mindless and outrageous attack on people of Derry.” McDonald also called on those with knowledge of the perpetrators to provide information to the “relevant authorities.”
That the leader of Sinn Fein would call on members of the Irish republican community to give intelligence to the PSNI represents a striking difference from the pre-Good Friday agreement era. Back then, very few Irish republicans would ever talk to the PSNI’s precursor, believing it was a sectarian protestant organization. But today many other Sinn Fein representatives have echoed McDonald’s words.
Those responsible for tonight’s car bomb in Derry have nothing to offer our community. https://t.co/TSWZB9Pqob
— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) January 19, 2019
As I say, this is inspiring. While it’s terrible that the New IRA maintains violent affinities, its lack of mainstream support shows that Northern Ireland has turned the page on the violent “troubles” era that defined Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. Instead, even amid real tensions over Northern Ireland’s political process, Sinn Fein and the DUP are united in their opposition to terrorism. They believe democracy, rather than the gun, is the way to empower their own interests.
It’s in that sense that these bombings are wholly unrepresentative of Northern Ireland in 2019.
