As chairman of the outgoing Executive it is my duty to outline to Convention the reasons behind the decision made by the Executive to call an extraordinary Convention. It is our opinion that only an extraordinary Convention, recalling the delegates from the previous Convention, would be sufficient to clarify major inaccuracies on fundamental constitutional and policy decisions taken by the Convention at that time.
This decision was not taken lightly. It came about after much debate and consultation. At all times the Executive acted in good faith striving to fulfil its constitutional role as laid down in the constitution. It is our opinion that only an extraordinary Convention would be sufficient to prevent serious internal problems in ONH over the foregoing fundamental principles.
The critical issues cited for the calling of this Convention are: (1) The Mitchell Principles, (2) Non-ratification of the ceasefire, (3) Treatment of the Executive by the Army Council, (4) Morale of the Volunteers.
Although these have been cited as separate they are inextricably linked.
Mitchell Principles
The Executive ruled that the signing of the Mitchell Principles was a breach of the constitution. They alerted the Army Council to this and after a lengthy, heated debate the Army Council agreed with this but stated they could give special dispensation to allow a Volunteer to break the Constitution. This was not accepted by the Executive. We are all aware of the consequences of when past leaderships attempted to interfere with or alter the fundamental aims and constitutional status of ONH.
The Army Council was advised by the Executive of the consequences of allowing this to happen. Furthermore the Executive insisted that a public statement be released clearly stating the Army’s position in relation to the Mitchell Principles. Experience on this occasion after the heroic struggle of the last 27 years means that the present leadership must be clear with the membership on these vital points so as on this occasion the great advances made will not be wasted. It must be fully recognised that great advances have been made but are we going to throw these away?
Non-ratification of the Cease-fire
The majority of the Executive were opposed to the cease-fires. They were critical of the timing of it, concerned about the weak state of the Army having just emerged from a previous lengthy “suss.” It was felt that the consensus of the last Convention was against a “suss” and the subsequent Donegal meeting re-affirmed this with the rejection of the aide-memoire.
A majority of the Executive felt that a reconvening of the delegates would have been the proper thing to do to clarify this position. Furthermore there was grave concern about the implementation of the integrated strategy. The Executive agreed with the principle of an integrated strategy but were critical of the term integrated as there was no evidence of a military strategy and the political strategy contained elements that were in conflict with the Army constitution.
For almost the last year we have relayed these concerns to the leadership and as yet a strategy which could be truly described as integrated has not been forthcoming. The most recent attempt at a military strategy was cobbled together and presented no later than three days ago at an Executive meeting after it was stated at a previous Executive two weeks earlier that there hasn’t been time to assemble one as people were tied up with meetings and going to talks at Stormont.
Treatment of the Executive by the Army Council
Having been a member of the previous Executive since 1986 I feel I am in a position to state that the outgoing Executive in my opinion was the first Executive I have seen which took its role seriously. This Executive was determined to carry out its function as laid down in the constitution by the last Convention.
In order to fulfil its role as advisers to the Army Council on policy matters relating to the Army it was essential for the Executive to be fully briefed. Resolutions passed at Convention help formulate future Army policy. The Executive repeatedly requested a copy of these at all meetings from after the Convention was held. These were withheld and only came into our possession a few weeks ago by mistake. It transpired that we were not to have them at all. These documents would have undoubtedly been of assistance in clarifying the consensus of the last Convention in its attitude to cease-fires being called, dual roles etcetera.
Incidentally a number of other documents were requested, one in particular, the aide-memoire, was requested and the reply was: these can be got in government buildings.
Prior to the general election in the Six Cos. the Army Council decided on a “tactical period of quiet” which lasted several weeks. The Executive was not informed of this. When it was raised at the Executive meeting in May the Army Council Chairman apologised and gave commitments that this would not happen again and that there would be better communication.
At this same meeting and as a consequence of what had already taken place members of the Executive expressed fears of a possible cease-fire being called. The Army Council chairman stated: “There was no case for a ceasefire” and he didn’t understand why it was even being discussed. We had only to wait a few weeks to see this commitment flounder. At the next meeting of the Executive the Army Council joined us. We were informed of the decision to call a ceasefire. We were informed that it was to be announced within 48 hours. Pressure was brought to bear on the Executive to support the decision. We were told to “endorse it or go to a Convention.”
The Executive realised the enormity of their responsibility and was reluctant to make rash decisions before discussing and consulting on this further, regardless of the criticism being directed at them. Several meetings took place where much consideration was given to the feedback from the Volunteers and the constitutional implications of the Mitchell Principles.
We were criticised for taking time to make our decision and then when we finally did we were asked to reconsider it. This is an example of the double talk and contradictions which we had become accustomed to. We were told: “If such a Convention is [held] at this time there is potential for disaster coming out of a Convention.” Yet as stated earlier we were also told “endorse or go to a Convention.”
The Morale of the Volunteers
In conclusion the majority of the Executive were conscious of the confusion and frustration felt by Volunteers when the decision to call a ceasefire was announced. Three months on this has not subsided, in fact it has been fuelled by conflicting assurances being given by members of the Army Council to Volunteers that we are going back to war in a couple of months while other members have stated they are fearful the struggle would be over if we did go back. Confusion breeds fear; fear breeds disillusionment; disillusionment breeds dissent. Too many sacrifices have been made by the Volunteers of ONH; for us to allow this sort of practice to continue we would be undermining our responsibility to the Volunteers who elected us to the position of Executive.