Spain , they say, will have a veto on trade agreements
involving Europe, Britain and Gibraltar
after Brexit.
Because Gibraltar is the subject of an ownership dispute
between two sovereign nations, Spain and Britain and therefore Spain has a
vital interest in what will be done concerning Gibraltar. And a veto.
Why does the government in Dublin not have a similar veto on
trade agreements between Britain , N.Ireland and the rest of Ireland after Brexit?
Once upon a time the Irish (1937)Constitution declared that
Ireland was a territory of one nation to be governed by one government , north,
south, east and west. But London claimed
jurisdiction over the northeast. So there was an international dispute between Britain and Ireland over possession
of the territory of the northeast.
This was very important to people struggling for their democratic rights.
London said whatever happened in the North Eastern part of Ireland was an internal British
domestic matter and therefore no business of Italy, France, the USA, the United
Nations etc. Those who were pleading for international support to avoid war and
bring peace in Ireland argued that it was
of international concern because of ,
among other things, this dispute between
two sovereign governments. It was a strong argument that convinced many
international people of goodwill that they really could intervene after all.
Some Dublin political parties, however, allied to the press, commercial interests and some academics
mounted a severe and eventually successful campaign to abolish the claim in Articles Two
and Three of the Irish Constitution which made the Irish situation one of international
concern with which other nations should
be involved. This campaign, successfully completed in 1999, chiefly by Fine
Gael, cut the feet from under a powerful democratic argument for international
intervention . We were left alone. Fortunately, due to the good work of
democratic politicians in Ireland and many friends abroad and the increasing
importance being given to the defence of
human rights in European and other international law the damage was not as bad as it might have
been.
Spain was not so foolish as to give up its claim to their
disputed territory, Gibraltar.
One important reason why Germany was comparatively easily re-united after the
Second World War was that the Germans never gave up their claim to be one nation to
be governed as one. influential Irish politicians persuaded a majority of
Irish people to give up theirs.
So, contrary to what may be said about it during the next few months,
the Good Friday Agreement is not the reason why Spain is in a better position
now regarding Gibraltar than Ireland is regarding the Northeast when Brexit
deals are done. The mischief was done - not by mistake but by careful and determined
planning in the South - long before that. Democratic politicians in the
northeast had little alternative to working with the Good Friday Agreement after
such a devastating and successful attack on basic articles of the Irish
Constitution . It is worthwhile to read
back into the history of that campaign to abolish the import of Articles Two
and Three. The campaign was long and
hard, for and against.
All of which is a
warning that we should watch every move, or every failure to move, every letter
and iota of suggestion and agreement that involves us in the Brexit affair. Today we are not limited as we were in the
past to negotiators who claim to speak for us, we have negotiators whom we
ourselves have appointed to do it.
Or do we have to learn the same lesson over and over ?
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