HMS Dauntless: A peace-keeping deterrent in the South Atlantic

I reckon few Britons know this (and for that matter, probably few Argentines). The Falkland Islands are not ‘just off the Argentine coast’. At the closest point, they are 185 nautical miles (or 213 statute miles) from Isla de los Estados, just off the south east tip of Argentina. They are about 250 miles (nautical) from the mainland coast.

Argentina accepts the principle that in international maritime law, territorial waters stretch to 12 miles offshore. That’s a key point  in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The 162 signatories include Argentina and the United Kingdom.

185 nautical miles separate Argentina and ‘Islas Malvinas’

So – at the closest point – the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas, lie 15 times beyond Argentina’s territorial waters. The distance is such that a sailor bound from one territory to the other would not see land for 80% of the journey. The Falklands are as far from Argentina as London is from Paris or Amsterdam. They are twice as far as Cuba is from mainland Florida.

At that distance, the Falkland Islands obviously lie beyond Argentina’s territorial waters. But the UN treaty also spells out the definition of a country’s exclusive economic zone. That’s up to 200 miles offshore. The Falkland Islands are just within that radius.

It’s quite understandable that Argentina should want to exploit resources (such as oil and fish) inside its EEZ. But then the United Kingdom wants to do the same.

Both countries claim sovereignty over the islands. International recognition is varied, and the United Nations is neutral on the issue. But Argentina’s difficulty is that the Union Flag flies over the islands. And, since the war in 1982, no British government dare let them go.

The prospect of oil near the Falklands has been envisaged for several decades, but the first successful strike wasn’t until 2010. The islands have long been of great symbolic significance to both the UK and Argentina, but now there is a significant economic interest too. That is more than can be said for Northern Ireland, in which a previous British government said it had “no selfish economic or strategic interest” (Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, November 1990). I know of no revision to this.

As with Northern Ireland, the deciding principle should be that of self-determination: the right of the Falkland Islanders to decide their own future. That principle is enshrined in the United Nation’s founding charter, and it represents the United Kingdom’s strongest argument.

The Falkland Islands have never had a native people. The people who live there now – mainly descendants of the plantation – are the only stakeholders to the question of self-determination. Overwhelmingly, they consider themselves British, and we should respect that.

But there is an awkward stalemate. Argentina suffered a military defeat in 1982. It surrendered its occupation, but not the question of sovereignty. Now despite (indeed because of) its presence in the region, the United Kingdom is losing influence in South America, where other nations back Argentina’s claim.

As oil investors are tempted into the region, they will want the question of sovereignty resolved. It would be a risky venture to invest in Falkland oil without assurances about the stability of the contracts. It is in the interests of Argentina to play up those risks.

I believe there is no near-term prospect of a deal with Argentina; certainly not on the essential question of sovereignty. Without a deal, the United Kingdom must be ultra-steadfast on its defence of the islands. As Argentina revisits its ambitions, it’s no surprise the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dauntless has been sent to the region. The British government described that deployment as ‘routine’. But if Buenos Aires is concerned about the ‘militarisation’ of the South Atlantic, at least it has got the message.

The UK is not about to go  to war with Argentina. Perhaps – as a deterrent – HMS Dauntless will help keep the peace.

 

A reminder The Troubles are over

The despicable murder of Pc Ronan Kerr is a tragedy for his family and a terrible episode for the Police Service of Nothern Ireland. He was killed, I surmise, because he was a Roman Catholic, like Pc Stephen Carroll before him (in April 2009). Together they are the only police officers murdered in the ten year history of the PSNI.

That decade has been remarkable for its relative peace. The political landscape has been turbulent, but the contrast with The Troubles is profound. In that period (1968-1998), the Royal Ulster Constabulary (precursor to the PSNI) lost more than 300 officers to terrorism.

The PSNI is a product of the Belfast Agreement (Good Friday 1998), which called for “a new beginning to policing in Northern Ireland”. Whether fairly or unfairly, the RUC was divisive: broadly supported by Protestants and distrusted by Catholics.

At the time of the Belfast Agreement, Catholic police officers made up about 8% of the RUC. In the nearest census (2001), Catholics represented 44% of Northern Ireland’s population.

For the PSNI, a recruitment quota was introduced. 50% of new officers were Protestant and 50% Catholic. Now 30% of all PSNI officers are Catholic. The PSNI remains unbalanced, but not absurdly so.

Politically, much has changed. Many parties, including Sinn Fein, worked together to negotiate the Belfast Agreement. But it was never formally endorsed by Sinn Fein and from the outset it was openly rejected by the DUP. Now the two parties lead the Northern Ireland Executive together.

Not so long ago it would have been unthinkable to imagine Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness sharing an office together. One was a provocative firebrand Protestant minister, the other a former commander of the Provisional IRA. But their relationship as First Minister and Deputy First Minister was so good they became known as the Chuckle Brothers.

The relationship between Peter Robinson and Mr McGuinness is considered a little cooler. But their working relationship is broadly effective.

The Executive would not exist at all had Sinn Fein not resolved to support the policing structures in 2007. Its lack of support had been the major stumbling block. Before that, it was the issue of weapons decommissioning. Both issues were extremely difficult for Sinn Fein, but their resolution was essential to winning unionists’ confidence.

There are some republicans who remain deeply opposed to the PSNI and continue to see it as a reviled instrument of the British state. They are especially unhappy that Catholics feel they can join such a force, and they see Sinn Fein as traitors for supporting it. They are few in number, but that is cold comfort to the families of Pc Carroll and Pc Kerr.

What may help, just a little, is that abhorrent events often have a habit of galvanising public opinion. The public appetite for peace became stronger still after the Omagh bombing, and their patience with extremists evaporated after the murder of Pc Carroll. He was killed in Craigavon. That Pc Kerr was killed in Omagh is ironic and laden with symbolism. The Omagh bombing in August 1998 killed 29 people and two unborn babies. It was the worst single atrocity of The Troubles, but it was also the last.

The Omagh bombing was condemned by both Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Their words would have sounded hollow to many victims of the IRA, but they were important; they symbolised a recognition that the public would tolerate violence no longer.

Debris from an IRA car bomb shot through my bedroom window in 1989. I was out.

This week, on Monday, in a display of unity, Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable, Matt Baggott, was flanked by Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, along with the Justice Minister, Alliance’s David Ford. Mr McGuinness’s message included this:

There has been much discussion of the whole issue of young Catholics joining the police and the effect that the killing of Ronan will have on them. I know there are many young Catholics in the police who are very nationalist and indeed republican minded. I am as proud of them as Nuala Kerr [Pc Kerr's mother] is of Ronan.

There was a time when the IRA targeted police officers and Sinn Fein behaved as apologists. In its prime, the IRA created no-go areas for the RUC. In effect, it acted as a separate police force in certain areas, dispensing summary justice.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary was seen both as a component of the British war machine and as a Protestant stronghold. Catholics who joined the RUC struggled with intolerance from their fellow officers and cries of treachery from their own communities. Many paid with their lives.

The fact that Sinn Fein now supports the police, and that Martin McGuinness expresses pride in young Catholic officers, is astonishing. But it is just one example in a long list of developments over the past decade or so which would have seemed unthinkable not long before.

Mr Kerr’s funeral took place at a Roman Catholic church in County Tyrone on Wednesday. Peter Robinson was among those paying their respects. As a prominent tribal Protestant, he had never before attended a Requiem Mass, but there is a time for everything:

It’s a personal decision I have taken. Not everyone will agree with it. But I hope people will understand that when dissidents murder a young man, it is right that the political establishment stands up and makes it very clear that they stand with this family.

Northern Ireland stands united against the killers. The murder of Pc Kerr was committed by nihilistic thugs with virtually no popular support. It is a tragedy, a reminder of an era which felt like it would never end. But it did.

Northern Ireland is not a perfect place. It still has its problems. The transition to peace continues. But the threats to peace are isolated and impotent. The Troubles are over.

 

The Pope ‘forgets’ Northern Ireland

The Pope has paid a lot of attention to us Brits this year. He visited Scotland and England in September, and today he delivered BBC Radio 4′s Thought for the Day. All creatures great and small have delivered this daily address over the years. Though none as great in the eyes of ecclesia as His Holiness, the successor to St Peter.

After all the righteous criticism levelled at the Roman Catholic church on its handling of sex abuse scandals, it is understandable the Pope should want to take the opportunity to set the agenda.

Thought for the Day is a religious reflection. There is an ongoing debate on whether it should be open to non-religious voices from time to time. But that is how it is for now.

It is not a political reflection. Or at least it shouldn’t be. But, by an act of omission, has the Pope unwittingly strayed into controversial political territory?

He recalls “with great fondness [his] four-day visit to the United Kingdom”. He follows this with a contemplation of the Christmas message and then a plea for us:

Dear friends from Scotland, England, Wales, and indeed every part of the English-speaking world, I want you to know that I keep all of you very much in my prayers during this Holy Season.  I pray for your families, for your children, for those who are sick, and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time.  I pray especially for the elderly and for those who are approaching the end of their days.  I ask Christ, the light of the nations, to dispel whatever darkness there may be in your lives and to grant to every one of you the grace of a peaceful and joyful Christmas.  May God bless all of you!
Pope Benedict XVI, Thought for the Day, 24 December 2010

I note that after reflecting on his “visit to the United Kingdom” he then addresses “friends from Scotland, England, Wales, and indeed every part of the English-speaking world”. What about Northern Ireland? While it is self-evidently part of the English-speaking world, it is also one of just four UK territories. Three nations are mentioned. One is not.

Northern Ireland listeners (if, like most, they happen to own a television) are among those who pay for the BBC through their TV Licence. It is very much a part of the United Kingdom; the Republic of Ireland has made no claim on it since its ratification of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. Even Sinn Fein accepts the status quo for now, though with great reluctance.

For the Pope to have left Northern Ireland unmentioned, especially given the historic religious sensitivity, seems like a careless oversight. Perhaps so; but I would be amazed if his advisers did not think it through.

If they did, the omission of Northern Ireland was deliberate. The Pope has a right, and a duty, to be controversial. But by failing to mention Northern Ireland in his broadcast, he is in danger of offending both Catholics and Protestants, if perhaps for different reasons.

Update (28 Dec 2010): I just remembered that the British Ambassador to the Holy See is Francis Campbell (Northern Ireland born and raised). This makes the omission of Northern Ireland in the Pope’s address even more fascinating.

 

The Conservatives’ homage to the UUP

I did a double take when I saw the Conservative Party logo on their 2010 conference stage. The ‘tree’ has had a lick of paint in a manner that made me wonder if Boris Johnson had dropped in with the Ulster Unionist Party.

Northern Ireland? Or just a loyalist tree? (source: BBC News)

I hadn’t realised the Conservatives’ tree looks somewhat like Northern Ireland, so if you paste the Union Flag over it, you’ve basically plagiarised the UUP logo. Neither logo acknowledges Lough Neagh.

The flagging Northern Ireland party’s new leader, Tom Elliott, has pledged to break the link with the Conservatives, but perhaps the larger party doesn’t want to let go?