A Deteriorating Situation 1969-72 PDF

A Deteriorating Situation, 1969-72 What does the examiner expect me to know?  How tensions increased in NI in the summer of 1969 and the intervention of the British and Irish Governments.  The re-emergence of Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations.  Th...

A Deteriorating Situation, 1969-72 What does the examiner expect me to know?  How tensions increased in NI in the summer of 1969 and the intervention of the British and Irish Governments.  The re-emergence of Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations.  The introduction of internment and responses to it.  The fall of Stormont and the introduction of ‘Direct Rule’.  The reactions of the people of NI to the above events. For additional information as well as some excellent key terms and summaries please click on the link below: GCSE Bitesize Information on increasing violence in 1969 Useful Overview Video: Violence in 1969 Increasing tensions and violence, summer 1969 Tensions already existed and during the months of June and July – the marching season – rioting continued. Sectarian violence broke out in Belfast. Paramilitaries emerged in Belfast using gun fire instead of stones and petrol bombs. Houses were burnt to the ground, mostly by loyalists and thousands (3,500) were driven from their homes. On 12 th August 1969, the Apprentice Boys marched through Derry City and rioting erupted. The Catholic rioters and the RUC fought each other intensively for three days. Tear gas, petrol bombs and rubber bullets were used. This continued for three days (50 hours) and became known as the ‘Battle of the Bogside’. TV cameras captured the embarrassing images and these were shown to the world. Rioting also broke out in Belfast and other provincial towns as the situation was very tense. 7 people died. In the middle of this intense and frightening period, on August 13 th, the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic, Jack Lynch, announced he would move Army units to the border and establish refugee camps for those fleeing the North as well as field hospitals. In effect this meant nothing, but the Protestant response was escalated with increased rioting and Catholics increased attacks on Police Stations to cause a withdrawal of police numbers from Londonderry. The RUC only had 3200 full time members and they were already overstretched and exhausted. The RUC were struggling to cope with the scale of the violence and 1|Page the Nationalist politicians asked for troops to be sent in to give nationalist areas protection. The reasons for and consequences of the intervention of the Irish and British governments The British Government responded by directly intervening. On 15th August Harold Wilson, P.M., announced British troops were to be sent to Northern Ireland and onto the streets of Belfast and Londonderry. At first the population in Nationalist areas welcomed the troops, which they saw as improvement on the RUC, and law and order was re-established and so an uneasy calm was established. The troops did win a breathing space for the politicians but they were not seen as a permanent solution. Their arrival also relieved the exhausted RUC. British policy followed the line that the problem concerned Civil Rights, not political power. They hoped that reforms might work; but how would they introduce reforms which would reconcile both nationalists and unionists. Chichester-Clark travelled to London to meet the PM and then on the 19th August 1969 The Downing Street Declaration was announced. This affirmed that: Northern Ireland should not cease to be part of the United Kingdom without the consent of the people of Northern Ireland. It also declared That every citizen of Northern Ireland is entitled to the same equality of treatment and freedom from discrimination as obtains in the rest of the United Kingdom irrespective of political views or religion. Over the following weeks the Stormont Government was forced to introduce further reforms:  Re-organisation of the RUC  Creation of a new Ministry of Community relations  Independent Community Relations Commission (Scarman Tribunal) to investigate recent disturbances  Establishment of a Commission of Complaints  Reform of local government by the introduction of ‘one man one vote’ and the redrawing of electoral boundaries to end gerrymandering.  Measures to prevent discrimination in the allocation of public jobs  A points system to ensure fair allocation of local authority housing and a single authority to oversee the allocation of houses. 2|Page   An enquiry into security and policing, especially the role of the ‘B’ Specials, led by Sir John Hunt.  £2 million work creating schemes.  Increases in investment grants. Civil rights leaders saw their programme being adopted. September 1969 saw the publication of the Cameron Report. It had been authorised by the Northern Ireland Government but it criticised the policies of that government and the RUC, blaming both for the violence. It highlighted issues such as gerrymandering and angered the Protestant community. October 1969 saw the publication of the Hunt Report which criticised the RUC for bias and recommended the disbandment of the ‘B’ Specials. The RUC were to be disarmed. The report also asked for the formation of the Ulster Defence Regiment (part time force) under the control of the British Army. This again angered many Protestants and rioting ensued in Loyalist areas as extreme loyalists opposed it in areas such as the Shankill Road. The ‘B’ Specials were disbanded on March 31st, 1970 and the UDR was created on April 1 1970. Nationalists and Unionists responded in the following ways… Nationalists initially welcomed the troops as protectors against sectarian attacks. Catholics gave the soldiers tea and sandwiches. However, this relationship soon soured. The British Government did not win the goodwill of the Nationalists by the actions of the Army searching for arms and making arrests. Unionists and Loyalists felt annoyed that violence had been rewarded and many felt it was a loss of control for the Unionist community. Tasks: 1) For what reasons and in what ways did tensions increase in Northern Ireland in the summer of 1969? 2) Create an illustrated mind-map to show how the British and Irish governments responded to events in Northern Ireland in 1969. 3) Create a summary table showing how Nationalists and unionists responded to the actions of the British and Irish governments in 1969. 3|Page  Click on the link below to test your knowledge on the increasing violence of 1969: GCSE Bitesize Test The re-emergence of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the split in the IRA and the objectives of the newly formed Provisional IRA For additional information as well as some excellent key terms and summaries please click on the link below: GCSE Bitesize information on paramilitary organisations in NI Useful video: The emergence of paramilitary organisations The IRA had been involved in a campaign 1956-62 but had abandoned it due to the lack of support or interest among the Catholic population in N.I. During July & August 1969 sectarian attacks had worsened and events such as the Battle of the Bogside and Bombay Street (west Belfast) led to anger at the lack of action by the Dublin-based IRA. The following link shows a video of Bombay Street in the aftermath of the attacks. This lack of willingness to get involved in NI events led to a division over what action should be taken in December 1969. A breakaway group emerged- the Provisional IRA (PIRA). This group broke away from the Official IRA. Their methods differed in the following ways:  Both organisations aimed to achieve a United Ireland but had different tactics/methods to achieve this. The PIRA felt the OIRA were too soft in their approach.  The Official IRA wanted to continue with political reform. They viewed violence as impractical. They contested in elections as the Workers Party.  The Provisional IRA embarked on a military policy/armed struggle. The main aim was to attack the Northern Ireland State and force a British withdrawal from the country. 4|Page   By Easter 1970 the PIRA had vocally stated its objectives as: Civil rights Defence of the Catholic population Destruction of the Stormont Government The removal of British ‘Imperialism’ from Ireland  The OIRA were not as outspoken.  THE PIRA acted to defend the Catholic population, meeting loyalist attacks in Belfast with force i.e. targeting police, soldiers and bombing protestant shops and businesses.  The OIRA wished to be more inclusive helping all the poor rather than just the Catholics. The actions of the Army now were alienating Catholics (i.e. Falls Curfew July 1970 for 34 hours) and helped PIRA gain support, membership rose from 100 to 800 in the second half 1970. The Army were seen as protectors of the State; therefore, it was argued to attack the Army was to attack the State. They violently sought to drive the troops out of NI. In April 1970 rioting in Ballymurphy was met with CS Gas, and house searches were carried out looking for weapons. In February 1971 2 policemen and 1 soldier were killed. The violence intensified. Deaths 1969 = 25 1970 = 174 The IRA campaign convinced some Protestants that Catholics would not be satisfied until a United Ireland was achieved. The re-emergence of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and its objectives, and the setting up of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and its objectives UVF The UVF was re-launched using IRA military style tactics. Their aims were to return to the old days of Unionist control and to defend the Union with Britain. They targeted and harmed Catholics to stop IRA violence and end the perceived appeasement of Catholics by O’Neill. Its numbers had increased against the background of NICRA and O’Neill’s reforms. UDA In September 1971, the UDA was set up and acted as a central council for Loyalist groups. It aimed at filling a gap in the defences of the loyalist community. It was seen as a defensive grouping against republican aggression. Within one year it had over 30,000 members and so was seen by the government as too large to ban despite the fact that it targeted and harmed Catholics. Violence and destruction shot up 1970-1 and Stormont asked Britain for help. 5|Page Bombings 1971: April 37 May 47 June 50 July 91 However, Britain did not want to alienate the nationalist community and so did not help. In despair, Chichester Clark resigned March 1971 and was replaced by Faulkner. Faulkner also struggled with the violence. The government response was to reintroduce internment which you will learn about later. Tasks: 1) Why did the IRA split to form the Provisional IRA? 2) Create a table summarising the mains reasons for the creation of the PIRA, UVF and UDA, their aims, the community they claimed to protect and the dates when they were formed. Click on the link below to test your knowledge on the emergence of paramilitary organisations: GCSE Bitesize Test 6|Page Exam style questions 1) Name the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland after Terence O’Neill _____________________________________________________________________ ___ 2) Describe one reason why the British Army were deployed in Northern Ireland in 1969. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________ Reasons for and effects of internment, escalation of violence, civil rights protests against internment, and Bloody Sunday and responses to it For additional information as well as some excellent key terms and summaries please click on the link below: GCSE Bitesize information on Internment: Reasons, actions and effects Useful video: Internment: Reasons, actions and effects Several new political parties emerged to challenge the existing nationalist and unionist parties. The Official Unionist Party had been the main political party for Protestants until 1970-71. Under pressure of violence and differences about how it should be ended some liberal unionists who wanted reform and reconciliation formed a new political party, which aimed to bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant. It was known as the Alliance Party and its first leader was Oliver Napier. In August 1970 a group of Nationalist, socialist, liberal and Labour politicians formed the SDLP and Gerry Fitt became leader. There were a few Protestant members but the party immediately became the voice of the Catholic minority. It was a Nationalist party as the goal was a United Ireland. It differed from the old Nationalist Party in the background of its leadership, its policies [there would be no united Ireland without the consent of the majority]. Its social and economic policies were left of centre. 7|Page In 1971 another Unionist split occurred with the formation of the DUP led by the Rev Ian Paisley. This had grown out of the Protestant Unionist Party which had formed in 1966 and had gained a notable victory when Rev. Paisley won Bannside in April 1970 after O’Neill’s resignation. The DUP won support from Protestants who were unhappy with the Unionist Party and wanted a tougher stance against terrorism and stronger measures to ensure the Union. Rev. Paisley was also Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church and spoke out against Roman Catholicism. Task: Create a summary table explaining the political aims of each of the three new parties, their leaders, when they were formed and where each party got their support from. Internment The Northern Ireland P.M. Chichester Clarke demanded more troops from the British Government to deal with the spiralling unrest at the end of 1970 and beginning of 1971. The PIRA was growing and its numbers had been boosted by events like the Falls Curfew July 1970. The PIRA bombing campaign mainly against Unionist owned businesses and attacks on British soldiers worried Unionist politicians. British P.M. Wilson refused to comply and provide these extra requested troops and NI PM Chichester-Clarke resigned in protest. The new Northern Ireland P.M. was Brian Faulkner. He attempted to get SDLP members onto committees and bridge some of the barriers but in July 2 men were shot dead by the Army in Londonderry. The government refused to hold an inquiry and the SDLP withdrew from Stormont in protest. The British Government continued to support the Army in its actions against terrorism and house searches continued as did arrests. At dawn on Monday 9th August 1971 3,000 troops moved into Nationalist areas (under Operation Demetrius) to arrest people suspected of being members of the IRA. By the evening 342 people had been picked up and, along with others over the next few days, were imprisoned without trial. 8|Page This internment was authorised under the Special Powers Act which gave the authorities the right to arrest, interrogate and detain without trial anyone suspected of being in the IRA. The British government approved Stormont’s decision. This tactic had been successfully used against the IRA in the past and used by the Irish government. It was hoped that it would enable them to gain information on the location of IRA weapons and provide an opportunity to question more IRA members. Faulkner had resorted to this tactic out of frustration at the lack of action by the British government. Few IRA personnel had been convicted for any of the bombings on Protestant businesses and the public were pushing Faulkner to take a tougher stance. Nationalists reacted in the following ways:  Internment became the focus of new civil right protests and violence again escalated. Jan 1 – August 9, 1971 – 30 killed Aug 10 – Dec 31, 1971 – 143 killed This was an increase fivefold from the previous 8 months of the year.  IRA support increased at home, in the Republic of Ireland and abroad  SDLP rent and rates strike  SDLP withdrew from local government in protest.  Civil rights marches restarted and army and protestors clashed 8 days later at Magilligan Internment camp with the army using baton charges and CS gas to disperse the protestors. Further protests were organised such as 30th January 1972 in Londonderry at what became known as Bloody Sunday.  The Taoiseach, Jack Lynch called for the removal of Stormont. Unionists reacted in the following ways:  Faulkner believed it was unpleasant but necessary to protect life and property and deal with the growing IRA threat.  Loyalist violence increased  UDA formed September 1971  UVF bombed McGurks Bar Belfast December and killed 15.  Faulkner conceded internment had been unsuccessful in stopping the PIRA as the most wanted people had “escaped the net”. People had been aware of the plans and few of those sought were arrested.  The Army had relied on information from the RUC which was not up to date. Out of 2,357 arrested 1,600 had to be released. Senior members of the IRA escaped the net. However, he also felt that it had at least located IRA weapons. 9|Page Bloody Sunday 30th January 1972 a huge civil rights march was planned for Londonderry to protest against Internment. Marches had been illegal since 1969 but this one was allowed. Rioting broke out as the rally broke up. Claiming that they had been fired on from the Rossville flats the Parachute Regiment fired on marchers resulting in the death of 13 people (another 13 were injured, one of which died). This incident is referred to as ‘Bloody Sunday’ and an inquiry led by Lord Widgery was set up. Widgery said he did not believe there had been any breakdown in Army discipline and that the Army had been attacked first. He admitted some individual soldiers may have ‘bordered on the reckless’ but blamed the organisers of the march for creating a dangerous situation and he was convinced that although the victims were not armed others were. Nationalists reacted in the following ways:  The immediate reaction was shock and outpourings of grief and anger at the scale of the deaths and because they felt that the victims were totally innocent.  Television images of Father Edward Daly shocked the world and nationalists throughout Ireland.  They felt that the Parachute Regiment (army) carried out an unprovoked attack.  Catholic hostility towards Stormont increased.  The Nationalists demanded an inquiry and became increasingly hostile towards the state.  This hostility led to widespread rioting in Nationalist towns, an increase in IRA membership especially in Londonderry and an increase in IRA violence with an escalation of the bombing campaign.  The British embassy in Dublin was attacked and burnt reflecting the anger felt in the Republic of Ireland. Unionists reacted in the following ways:  Initially some were also shocked and saddened by the events. They even expressed regret over the casualties.  However, there was also a feeling that the victims were not completely innocent as the march was illegal, that the IRA were involved in the march, that the victims were armed and that the army had been provoked.  The increased IRA violence led to the formation of the Ulster Vanguard in February 1972, led by William Craig. It served as a coordinating body for traditionalist loyalist groups. 10 | P a g e   A huge demonstration of 70,000 was organised in Belfast Ormeau Park to exhibit the strength of unionist discontent. After the disappointment at the Widgery Inquiry, the case was reopened to investigate the events under the auspices of the Saville enquiry 2001-2011. The Saville Report stated that all victims were innocent. The British Government apologised. As a result of the shootings and continuing atrocities in Northern Ireland and on mainland Britain [Aldershot] the British P.M. Edward Heath called Brian Faulkner to London and stated that Britain was taking responsibility for security and Stormont would be closed down. Tasks: 1) Explain how and why Nationalists and Unionists reacted to the events of Bloody Sunday, 1972. 2) Explain how and why the British Government reacted to the events of Bloody Sunday, 1972 3) Create a timeline for the period August 1971 to July 1972. Include all the main events until March 1972. This will be updated later. Click on the link below to test your knowledge on internment and reactions to it: GCSE Bitesize Test 11 | P a g e Reasons for the fall of Stormont and the introduction of Direct Rule For additional information as well as some excellent key terms and summaries please click on the link below: GCSE Bitesize Information on Direct Rule, 1972 Useful video: Direct Rule, 1972 Northern Ireland had been a self-governing part of the UK for 50 years, but the events of 1969-72 led the British Government to conclude that Unionist rule was not effective. Internment had not improved the law and order situation; in fact, it had worsened. The issue had become a focus for civil rights protests as well as a rent and rates strike called by the SDLP. After ‘Bloody Sunday’ rioting increased in nationalist areas and there was an increased IRA bombing campaign. Faulkner sought authority for the re-arming of the RUC and the reestablishment of the B- Specials in an attempt to regain control of the streets. The British PM Edward Heath did not agree with these ideas and insisted on complete British control of security and justice. When the Northern Ireland government refused to accept this, Heath took the decision to suspend the Stormont government March 1972. This was Direct Rule. There was a Secretary of State sent from London to run the various departments (the first was William Whitelaw) he was assisted by a small group of junior ministers also from England. All decisions and laws governing Northern Ireland were made at Westminster. This was to be a temporary measure until a new system of government could be agreed upon. They only expected it to last about a year. Reaction in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland to the British government’s decision to suspend Stormont Unionists reacted in the following ways:  Many Unionists felt betrayed by the British Government and some supported more extreme parties such as the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (formed by William Craig Feb 1972) and the DUP.  Huge demonstrations were held at Stormont during the last hours of Unionist rule. 12 | P a g e   They held a series of strikes and shutdowns effectively closing Northern Ireland down for 2 days.  Tensions spilled over into a spate of sectarian murders by loyalists in Belfast.  There was an increase in support for loyalist paramilitaries such as the UDA as people worried that the barrier to a United Ireland was being removed. Nationalists reacted in the following ways:  Many Nationalists were pleased to see the end of Unionist control.  Indeed, the IRA even declared a ceasefire, although this proved to be short-lived.  1972 became the blackest year of the troubles.  The IRA then opposed Direct Rule and felt that Britain was illegally seeking to claim the Irish country.  The IRA felt determined to revert to their armed struggle to push Britain out of NI and enable Ireland to reunite.  NICRA and Peoples Democracy hoped that this was a new beginning and they continued their demands for reform. The Irish government welcomed the move. On 14th April 1972 30 bombs exploded. Indeed, bombings continued throughout May until the announcement of a ceasefire 29th May. In June, the Secretary of State granted Special Category Status to internees, in effect they were Political Prisoners rather than criminals. This decision was later regretted. Loyalists were angry at what they saw as appeasement of the paramilitaries. The UDA formed their own ‘no go’ areas and a series of tit for tat murders occurred. By the end of 1972 81 Catholics and 40 Protestants had been assassinated. With the knowledge of the Secretary of State, John Hume met with Gerry Adams and gained the promise of a PIRA ceasefire from midnight 26th June. Shootings and bombings continued right up to the deadline. Representatives of PIRA flew to England July 7th to negotiate but their terms were too high, requiring the British Government to free all political prisoners and withdraw the Army within 3 years. With this failure to reach agreement the ceasefire collapsed July 9 th and violence exploded. July 21st, 1972 saw a horrific series of 20 bombs in Belfast. This event would later become known as Bloody Friday. It left 9 dead and 130 injured. In total 39 bombs exploded that day. This gave the British Government the opportunity to launch Operation Motorman which saw the Army go into and dismantle the barricades around the ‘no go’ areas of Belfast and Londonderry. Troops were brought in during 29-30 July and Motorman took place on 31st 13 | P a g e July. Little opposition was met and loyalist barricades were also dismantled. Yet while this went on 3 bombs exploded without warning in Claudy village killing 10 people. July 1972 there were 95 killed. Army bases were established in and around areas of opposition in Northern Ireland. The success of Operation Motorman encouraged the British government to seek a political settlement. Talks began September 1972. The Irish government showed support by acting against Sinn Fein, closing their Dublin HQ and imprisoning Sean MacStoifain (IRA army council). The government also removed the Board of RTE after the TV company had interviewed MacStiofain despite a government directive not to do so. In December 2 people were killed in Dublin by Loyalist bombs and Ruari O’Bradaigh, President of Provisional Sinn Fein and Martin McGuinness, Provisional Commander in Londonderry were arrested. Tasks: 1) Update your timeline detailing events March-July 1972 2) Did Direct Rule reduce violence in Northern Ireland? Give detailed reasons for your answer. Click on the link below to test your knowledge on Direct Rule: GCSE Bitesize Test 14 | P a g e Exam style question 1) Explain two of the following: A The reactions of Unionists and Nationalists to internment B The reactions of Unionists and Nationalists to Bloody Sunday C The reactions of Unionists and Nationalists to Direct Rule Explanation One: (A, B or C) ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Explanation Two: (A, B or C) ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 15 | P a g e ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 16 | P a g e