The Proclamation Project
Posted by Jim on May 13, 2017
As Republicans gathered in Dublin to mark the anniversary of the
killing of Ronan MacLochlainn by Gardai 19 years ago, 32 County
Sovereignty Movement national chair Francis Mackey urged support for
The Proclamation Project, which was recently launched by the group.
Mr Mackey said the project is a “five year strategy to put Irish
republicanism back into the driving seat of securing Irish unity”. The
following is an extract from the draft document.
Introduction
The success of the Moore Street Occupation and the Easter Monday
Centenary Commemoration in Dublin are demonstrable examples of how
effective republican cooperation can be. Both events returned, in some
measure, a political dignity to Irish republicanism. They also lay to
rest the view that such cooperation cannot work and negate any strategy
that would utilise this view to avoid engagement between republicans.
In each event, and in the processes to create them, the integrity of all
organisations and viewpoints were respected. To the fore was the
attainment of the objective at hand as opposed to using the engagement
simply to advance a given group’s position. The simplicity of the format
became its dynamic, the underlying rule being that the better argument
prevails.
All those who participated were encouraged to speak in whatever status
they so chose, individual or group representative, to ensure that
whichever decisions were taken reflected the majority of views
expressed.
It was also recognised that any failure to find agreement on a given
point would not be viewed as an impediment or bar on seeking agreement
on others. Equally, points of agreement and decisions made were not
continuously re-visited but robustly implemented to maintain forward
momentum.
The initiative behind the Easter Centenary March was focussed on
requiring groups participating to present their core message as opposed
to simply advertising which particular group they represented. The
intent of this strategy was to move the current republican narrative out
of the cocoon of the group and into the national conversation with their
core political message. This was as challenging as it was necessary
because it contained inherent implications; if a group has nothing
different to say then why does it exist? If it has something to say why
not ally it with similar views to propagate it wider?
The necessity of this challenge was born from the realisation that what
currently unites all shades of republicanism and socialism is failure
and that what is required is not the formation of new groups but the
consolidation and development of a policy programme that can advance
republican and socialist politics. The current low state of Irish
republicanism is self inflicted; to pretend otherwise is a dangerous
dishonesty. There are no quick fixes and any solutions which are not
challenging are not solutions at all.
Both events referenced here were extremely challenging and required a
tenacity and pragmatism to see them through. But central to the success
of any future strategies must be the re-introduction of a sense of
comradeship between republicans because in its absence even the most
eloquent political theory will not advance one iota.
A national struggle requires a national mindset and all community
political activity and campaigns must have a national dimension. There
is no place in the republican struggle for parochialism. It is a
debilitating and isolating practice which feeds of narrow mindedness and
innuendo.
Equally, seeking refuge in ideological rigidity or historical
technicalities is the very antithesis of what the concept of a
revolutionary movement should be. Claims to represent or be a republican
must be evaluated on the quality, depth and strategic merit of the
activity carried out in its pursuit. In short Irish republicanism and
socialism must be synonymous with that pursuit.
The most fundamental form of political activity is the act of talking,
first to each other then together with others whom we need to engage.
Dialogue is essential if ideas are to be translated into strategies and
such strategies have a better prospect of gaining traction if those who
are implementing them played a full part in their construction.
What is set out below is a template within which the dual criterion of
political strategy building can be initiated, namely, conversing
together to work out policy and strategy and acting together to
implement it.
The Proclamation Project
A credible political strategy must contain and be cognisant of the
following:
* Unity of purpose
* Defined objectives
* Defined policies
Unity of Purpose
Republicans working together is as important as the fruits of that work.
The fractured nature of the republican base is testament to the fact
that dialogue amongst republicans is practically non-existent. It has
reached a crisis point wherein the deliberate avoidance of dialogue is
the first priority and this is justified primarily on personal slander
and parochial ego. In normal political discourse there is merit in
considered disagreement yet even this is absent in the republican case.
It is failure manifested.
It is beyond pointless to pursue to any extent a political objective
which is predicated on failure. And it is equally pointless to place
false preconditions on addressing and ending such a state of affairs.
There is no issue of ideology, episode of history or point of politics
which is served by not ending failure. Blame is not a solution. This is
the first nettle which needs to grasped; republicans and socialists need
to sit down together in a mature and pragmatic manner, in the first
instance, to demonstrate to the people in whose name we claim to act
that we can indeed do so. How can we talk credibly of unity in any sense
yet fail to practice it ourselves? It is a wholly unsustainable
position.
Defined Objectives
Aspirations are reached via the mechanism of defined objectives.
Objectives are so defined according to our abilities to realistically
achieve them. These abilities are greatly enhanced with republicans
working in tandem which also allows for a more nuanced and practical
process in selecting them. Once selected they give structure and
direction to the republican struggle.
In setting out interim republican objectives we must balance the
equation of ability set against relevance; relevance to contemporary
society and relevance to the broader aspiration. Objectives are
practical goals and at their core must be a working relationship between
republicans and our communities. We cannot hope to bring our communities
into the republican project by dealing with issues which do not affect
them. This is where it is critical in understanding that all local
republican campaigns must have a corresponding national dimension.
Defined Policies
An aspiration or an opinion is not a policy; nor is wearing a mask.
Stating a position of wanting a United Ireland or the means of
production to be in the control of the people are not in themselves
policies to achieve them. Inherent in any meaningful definition of
policy must be a strategy to pursue them. Policies can only define who
we are once we actively pursue and implement them. It is our activism
that will ultimately define us because whereas a policy reflects intent
activism in their pursuit reflects ability and commitment.
There is a wealth of republican and socialist thinking at our disposal.
At times we have allowed this resource to be stagnated by slogans and
misappropriated to justify sides in schisms. From Wolfe Tone to Ta Power
there exists a rich tapestry of revolutionary thought that a cooperating
republican base can devise exceptional and distinctive policies.
Recognising the primacy of revolutionary politics returns to the
Republican Movement a political sophistication which cannot be ignored.
It is vital that republican socialism removes itself from the
straitjacket of being perceived as a protest movement, more anti
capitalist than proactively socialist. Our policy platform must be based
on providing solutions.
Strategy Template
The next five years affords Irish republicanism an unprecedented
opportunity to reinvigorate the republican project. The Centenaries of
the most seminal events in republican history will place into the
national narrative the core issues which are at the heart of Irish
republicanism. As witnessed with the Centenary of 1916 the State and the
revisionists were desperate to dilute the central tenets of what the
Proclamation represents. But ultimately this was a distraction for
republicans. Arguing with revisionists is not providing political
alternatives or delivering radical solutions. This is where our focus
must be.
The Easter Monday March was always to be viewed as a start point, a
watershed. Republicans marked the event with a display of unity, a clear
message in itself and an immensely fitting and important first step. The
oncoming Centenaries can act as focal points around which a corpus of
political and social policy can be formulated. Using the Centenaries in
such a fashion allows republicans two critical components; a defined
timeframe with an end point to aim for and a political end point in
which the culmination of policy formation can directly address. In
effect republicans will celebrate these Centenaries not with quaint
pageantry but with separatist politics structured around agreed
policies.
* 1918 General Election: Democracy & The Citizen
* Founding of the First Dail: Parliament & The Citizen
* Declaration of Independence: Sovereignty & The Citizen
* Democratic Programme: Society & The Citizen
* War of Independence: War & The Citizen
* 1921 Treaty: Negotiations & The British
Within these headings will be issues that will directly affect
individual citizens, communities and the country at large and which in
turn republicans will have to formulate policies and strategies to
implement them.
* Sovereignty of the Individual
* Sovereignty of Community
* National Sovereignty
* Unionism
* Right to a Home
* Right to our Natural Resources
* Debt, Poverty & Society
* The Drug Abuse Question
* A.N. Other
The trajectory of this political activity is ultimately a return to the
negotiations table with the British to end, once and for all, their
presence in our country. The revolutionary period between 1916 and 1921
is where Irish republicanism got it right. Where it failed was in
abandoning this position by allowing the British to determine their
constitutional status in the Treaty negotiations. The British would not
recognise the Irish delegates as representatives of the Irish Republic
but rather as representatives of the British created Southern
Parliament. Once the delegates conceded to this they were, in the words
of delegate Robert Barton, “on the road to disaster”.
This error was repeated in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations. The
entry fee into those negotiations was the prior acceptance of a
partitionist outcome which it duly delivered. The case for Irish
national sovereignty was neither made nor defended in that process.
The key lesson from this history is that for republicans to call for
such negotiations we must have in place key elements which reflect and
protect the totality of the republican position:
* Irish national sovereignty defined in International Law
* The participation of the people via Policy Programme
* Blueprint for a post withdrawal Ireland
The Proclamation Project proposal is geared toward reinvigorating
republican politics by concentrating on building coherence in the
republican message over a five year period. As that coherency brings
depth and clarity to the republican position our political influence on
the national narrative increases also. It can only be accomplished by
republicans and socialists sitting down and talking. To view or use the
proposal as a means to garner support, real or imagined, for any given
group, or given group’s position, is to completely misunderstand its
purpose.