Sinn Fein And The Dup

For centuries, Protestants and Catholics have been fighting one another. None of

these fights carry as much infamy as the one between the Catholic and Protestant sects of

Ireland. Since the early 17th century, Catholics and Protestants have been fighting in what

can be considered the greatest thorn in England's side since attempting to spread the

Protestant word throughout the world. Out of all the countries that have been under

English rule, the country right next to them has been the toughest to handle, and although

much of the country was returned in 1920, it continues to be a problem today. In fact, it

was this partition of the country that lead to many of the problems that Ireland faces today

between the two leading political parties; the DUP and the Sinn Fein. (Arthur 2)

In the 1920's, the British Government partitioned Ireland. Originally the plan had

been to remove all British control of the island after US President Woodrow Wilson had

told Britain they needed to do something about the distraction being cause by British rule

in Ireland. However, feeling abandoned, the Protestants voiced that they were British

citizens and that they held the majority in what is now known as Northern Ireland. The

best that Britain could do was to partition the Island into two pieces; Northern Ireland and

the Republic of Ireland. Although still under some British rule, the republic had much

more say in what happened in their government. Northern Irelands, however, became a

much larger problem than was intended. Britain had sought to help restore balance

between the two religious sects, but instead it had made thing much worse. (Arthur 2) To

this day, Catholics and Protestants are in a seemingly endless struggle to gain control of

Northern Ireland, with Protestants holding the majority in their Unionist parties. Today,

the largest of these Unionist Parties is known as the DUP, or Democratic Unionist Party.

Led and co-founded by Dr. Ian Paisley, the DUP is known for its right-wing ideals and

hard-liner attitudes; accepting nothing less than exactly what they ask for. Since taking

the majority over the UUP, the DUP has demanded a hasty disarmament and devolution

of the IRA before initiating in any talks with the Sinn Fein republican party, both of

which are loosely related. (BBC News, Paisley, and Wikipedia).

In July of 2005, the IRA released a statement that outlined their disarmament and

intent to follow democratic means of change. Following this statement, Sinn Fein

demanded to engage in talks between the DUP and themselves on the measure of peace.

Unfortunately, unlike the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party) The DUP was much more

conservative and demanded proof of the disarmament before any further negotiations

would be made. As of today, the DUP is still extremely reluctant to speak with Sinn Fein

feeling there is a cover-up behind the IRA disarmament. (Sinn Fein)

Playing the part of an unbiased third-party, I would have to say the biggest

problem in the political process and the peace process is mistrust. Most, if not all of the

events and campaigns of the IRA were lead in mistrust of the Unionists and British

Government. The Same is true for the Unionists and British Government. Because of this

mistrust, tensions can escalate from protests, to violence, even to war as has been proven

in Northern Ireland. The most important factor in restoring peace between Catholic and

Protestant Irish as well as the Sinn Fein and the Unionists is to restore trust. In this case,

one side must make the first step. Sinn Fein is ready to talk and is trusting enough to have

the IRA lay down their weapons leaving them vulnerable. To this the DUP has given a

cold shoulder. This