N. Ireland's Protestants in need of proper leader
By Stefan Klein
LONDON (DPA): One dead civilian, 81 injured policemen, six injured soldiers, 217 arrests, 128 damaged buildings, 350 demolished motor vehicles, 329 attacks on security forces, 305 incidents with petrol bombs.
That is the provisional toll of a conflict in the middle of a supposedly civilized Europe. Every July when the "marching season" arrives, Northern Ireland discharges the tension that builds up -- year after year.
Not that it was particularly serious this time round. There have been worse years. But that is pretty small comfort. The riots of the past two weeks have been bitter because they evoke once more the image of horror which Northern Ireland had begun to get rid of in the context of the peace process.
The province had been presented with some success as an attractive place to do business but an American trade delegation has now decided to cancel a planned visit. Who wants to invest in a country where the streets are barricaded?
On July 12, the day when the Protestants think of King Billy and how he gave the Catholics a thrashing at the River Boyne in 1690, is past -- thank God -- and supposedly the situation will now slowly return to normal. Until next year when the trouble begins all over again.
This is the fatal cycle that urgently needs to be broken if Northern Ireland is to make progress on the way to stability and peace. The question is: How?
The problem is no longer one between Protestants and Catholics. The Catholic Garvaghy Road in Portadown, where the Orangemen are not allowed to march, is only the occasion for the riots. These riots are fueled less by hatred of Catholics than by other forces: by the confusion of a tribe which has lost its political dominance and which is facing the possibility of losing its numerical superiority as well.
Protestants see their justification for their existence in their "Britishness" -- yet it is this very fact which is increasingly seen in London as an embarrassment.
They would like to place name of the Northern Ireland police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), under a preservation order, yet they throw petrol bombs at RUC policemen. In their worst form -- as loyalist terrorist groups -- Protestants breed bloodthirsty monsters who tear at each other's throats.
Loyalists, Unionists, Orangemen -- the Protestant camp is in a state of chaos and there seems to be no one on the horizon able to redefine the camp and its identity in a Northern Ireland of the Good Friday agreement.
David Trimble would be that person. As head of the largest Protestant party and First Minister it would be his task to show the type of leadership which would put the Orange Order in its place and -- even more important -- to push for the peace deal more aggressively among his peers as the only chance the province has.
But Trimble has half his party against him. Which is why he sees himself forced to maneuver and play tactics. That might not be the worst quality for a politician -- but it is not what Northern Ireland needs at this moment.