12
THE
FREE
PRESS
-
Monday,
November
14,
1994
POWER
OR
PEACE?
by
Cameron
Grey,
staff
writer
"
Making
its
entrance
into
mainstream
politics,
Sinn
Fein,
the
I.R.A.'s
political
wing,
was
supposed
to
join
10
Irish
parties
at
an
unprecedented
peace
forum
in
Dublin.
But
neither
of
the
two
main
Protestant
Unionist
parties
from
Northern
Ireland
nor
the
British
government
sent
representatives
to
the
talks.
That
caused
considerable
annoyance
in
Dublin.
"-
Time
Magazine,
November
7,
1994.
On
August
28,
1994
something
happened
that
I
honestly
never
thought
I
would
live
to
see.
The
Irish
Republican
Army,
which
has
waged
a
terrorist
campaign
against
a
British
Occupational
Army
for
almost
80
years
in
Northern
Ireland,
called
a
cease-fire.
This
was
a
particularly
momentous
act
as-it
effectively
ended
the
chaos
that
has
stricken
Northern
Ireland
for
nearly
a
century.
And
yet
on
the
threshold
of
peace
we
find
the
British
Government
dragging
it's
feet
and
deliberately
not
agreeing
to
talks
with
the
I.R.A.'s
political
wing,
Sinn
Fein.
We
see
the
Protestant
Loyalist
Forces,
whom
the
media
chose
to
ignore
through
the
Troubles,
waging
a
terrorist
campaign
against
any
Catholic
neighborhood
in
gunshot,
seemingly
trying
to
destroy
this
attempt
at
peace.
So
the
question
has
to
be
asked-
what
is
going
on?
The
British
for
years
have
exploited
the
Northern
Ireland
economy
and
created
a
situation
where
only
Protestants
(i.e.
Anglican)
can
get
decent
jobs.
Politically
it
is
this
same
group
who
would
hold
or
influence
power
as
in
any
Western
democracy.
No
one
should
need
to
be
told
that
business
runs
the
United
States,
Britain,
Canada
or
France.
With
a
reunification
of
Ireland
the
British
and
the
powerful
Protestant
business
elite
would
lose
this
monopoly
of
trade
and
commerce.
It
is
very
reasonable
to
assume
that
the
re-unified
Ireland
would
elect
a
government
that
would
be
based
in
the
more
prosperous
South
where
the
majority
is
Catholic.
Therefore,
a
last
ditch
strike
by
Protestant
Loyalists
to
bring
the
I.R.A.
back
into
the
war
would
conveniently
allow
the
British
and
the
Protestant
minority
to
continue
it's
REMEMBER
YOUR
ROOTS
AS
SOME
OF
YOU
STILL
DONTCET
IT
WEVE
DECIDED
TO
MAKE
THIS
SOMETHING
WE
RUN
EVERY
ISSUE.
YOU
ARE
CANADIAN.
BE
PROUD,
BE
STRONG,
BE
LOUD.
CO
AHEAD,
SCREAM
AT
THE
TOP
OF
YOUR
LUNCS
THE
USA
SUCKS!"
NO
ONE
MINDS!
WE
ACREE!
MORE
GREAT
REASONS
TO
LOVE
BEBN6
A
CANUCK:
MOLSON'S
LABATT'S
MUKLUKS
MOXY
FRUVOUS
BRYAN
ADAMS
BEAVERS
AND
MOOSE
MIKE
MYERS
WERE
NOT
THE
USA!
EUROPEANS
LIKE
US
LEVINS
IN
IGLOOS
(OR
SO
THEY
LIKE
TO
THINK!)
THE
TV
SHOW
"DUE
SOUTH"
practices
and
everything
would
be
business
as
usual.
British
Prime
Minister
John
Major
is
of
the
Conservative
Party
on
the
political
right.
The
right
is
usually
concerned
with
economics
rather
than
social
change.
The
British
Army
would
be
very
upset
at
having
to
pull
out
of
a
military
position
and
the
people
who
have
made
money
from
the
Occupation,
mainly
the
military
manufacturers
of
tanks,
spy
equipment,
artillery
etc.,
would
be
out
of
a
job.
Soldiers
would
be
out
of
a
job
as
well,
though
one
would
be
inclined
to
believe
that
they
wouldn't
be
terribly
upset
by
this.
This
pull
out
would
have
serious
effect
on
the
already
high
unemployment
rate
in
Britain,
which
would
drive
Major's
popularity
down
further.
To
open
talks
with
the
"enemy"
would
also
be
politically
unhealthy
for
Major
and
the
British
Government.
For
many
years
the
British
have
promoted
the
I.R.A.
as
low
life
terrorists
who
do
not
deserve
to
be
negotiated
with.
Many
people
have
been
affected
by
undiscriminating
RA
bombs
that
killed
innocent
people.
To
suddenly
recind
the
policy
and
forgive
the
many
innocents
who
died
would
shake
the
power
base
of
Major
further
still.
The
key
conservative
supporters
tend
to
be
either
the
big
businessman
who
stand
to
lose
a
sizeable
sum
of
money
from
peace
or
the
staunch,
wealthy
British
Imperialists
who
still
believes
in
the
mighty
Britannia
ruling
the
waves
and
Britain
standing
up
to
the
Irish
"
hooligans".
To
say
that
the
I.R.A.
is
innocent
of
any
fault
would
be
not
only
wrong
but
stupid.
Terrorism
in
any
form
is
still
terrorism.
But
a
real
effort
for
peace
has
been
made
and
as
usual
political
gains
seem
to
outweigh
this.
At
this
time,
the
Protestant
Loyalist
Forces
have
called
a
cease-fire
but
the
British
Government
hos
yet
to
commit
to
a
concrete
date
to
begin
talks
with
the
Sinn
Fein
and
Jerry
Adams
as
well
the
British
Occupational
Forces
have
not
yet
begun
to
pull
out
of
Northern
Ireland
so
that
the
peace
process
can
begin.
It
is
time
for
the
British
to
begin
to
talk
with
the
I.R.A.
and
not
at
them.
Peace
is
within
Ireland's
reach
but
the
British
still
seem
to
be
withholding
the
ladder.
The
Occupation
of
Heather
rose
by
Sandra
Richot
The
Occupation
of
Heather
Rose,
written
by
Wendy
Lill,
is
a
one
woman
play
performed
by
Jennifer
Cundy-Ma.
The
play
consists
of
two
acts,
and
Cundy-Ma
does
a
superb
job
as
an
actress.
The
play
is
based
on
the
experiences
of
Wendy
Lill,
a
registered
nurse,
who
went
to
work
in
the
North
for
the
Canadian
Mental
Health.
Cundy-Ma
was
able
to
portray
a
naive,
twenty-one-year
old
nurse
who
dreams
of
'saving'
the
Natives.
She
swept
the
audience
away
to
the
cold,
isolated,
unfriendly
North.
I
have
never
before
watched
anyone
who
could
produce
tingles
up
and
down
my
spine
like
the
ones
I
experienced
when
I
watched
Cundy-Ma.
She
laughed,
cried,
screamed
and
became
vulnerable
when
appropriate.
Cundy-Ma's
portrayal
of
emotions
produced
similar
emotions
within
me.
Having
lived
in
the
North
I
could
relate
to
the
problems
she
was
encountering
in
her
life.
Cundy-Ma
realistically
portrayed
how
professional
people
view
Natives.
Her
three
main
themes
government
organizations
and
their
dealings
with
Natives,
the
effects
of
isolation
on
the
unprepared
and
the
effects
of
alcohol
on
the
vulnerable.
Cundy-Ma
brought
each
of
these
themes
alive
and
made
me
realize
how
prejudice
Whites
are
against
Natives.
I
have
always
been
aware
of
the
inequalities
between
cultures
but
I
chose
not
to
let
it
affect
me.
After
watching
the
play,
and
because
I
chosen
Social
Work
as
my
career,
I
am
now
having
to
rethink
my
attitude
of
'saving'
people.
The
Occupation
of
Heather
Rose
is
a
fantastic
play
which
made
me
laugh,
cry,
and
feel
intense
anger.
Cundy-Ma
is
a
superb
actress
who
brought
the
issues
of
Natives,
isolation
and
alcohol
to
the
forefront
of
my
consciousness.
This
play
has
created
a
desire
within
me
to
learn
to
appreciate
the
differences
between
Natives
and
non-Natives.
I
now
realize
how
much
Native's
suffering
affects
all
of
us.
THIS
STUDENT
NEWSPAPER
IS