The IRA: "a Tea Party with guns?"

Delegates work to resolve the issue of the IRA in the Security and Terrorism Council.

On Saturday, the Security and Terrorism Council session concerning the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland reached a resolution condemning their recent acts of violence. The rise of this political party has caused much tension due to its role during “The Troubles”, the sporadic ethno-political violence that shook much of Ireland. All delegates judged the actions of the IRA as criminal; however, all delegates agreed to the proposition to leave the responsibility of convicting or controlling the IRA to Ireland and the UK.

The debate began with Ireland insisting that no aid was needed, emphasizing the necessity of keeping their sovereignty. “Sending peacekeepers won’t help,” said China as he agreed with Ireland’s stance.  Iran also agreed, stating that the issue was “internal and requires no interference from an international agency such as the UN.” Germany stated that “the UK and Ireland must work together to eradicate public support” for the IRA.

On the other hand, Israel claimed that the IRA posed “a threat to other countries worldwide.” The delegate argued that the IRA works in other countries, is interconnected with terrorist groups in the Middle East, and helps to train terrorists stationed in other countries. The IRA even carried out an assassination plot against Israeli officials, and so the delegate from Israel felt strongly about his position.

However, Guatemala described the IRA as a “tea party with guns,” not a terrorist group but still an extremist political party, which in this case conducts organized crime for self-enrichment and political progress. Ireland disagreed by saying that the “Real IRA’s actions cannot be considered terrorism because it doesn’t have political goals.” The IRA, as Ireland noted, has in fact broken up into two parts: a political party and a group that carries out acts of violence for its own purposes.

In conclusion, Ethiopia put forth the proposition that, instead of direct intervention, the UN stop arms shipments to the IRA in order to stifle its international support. This way, Irish sovereignty would not be threatened by an outside force. Ireland agreed along with the other delegates that freezing all domestic and overseas assets would be a logical plan of action.

The Council also came to an agreement on the conditions of possible intervention by the international community. If the UK and Ireland asked for UN intervention or the Security Council voted and passed a resolution with 2/3 majority, the UN would gladly aid the countries.