Politician Discusses Northern Ireland

A government with power shared equally by Catholics and Protestants, and tied to England, must be established in Northern Ireland to restore order in that country, an official of Ulster's only bisectarian political party said at the ARCO Forum last night.

John Cushnahan, general secretary of Northern Ireland's Alliance Party, said, "My party is convinced that a partnership government would develop a new common loyalty between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland."

He added that if the two groups could identify with their government, they would be willing to unite against para-military activity. "This would ease the cyclical violence in our country," he said.

Cushnahan rejected the possible solution of a united Ireland, noting that a British withdrawal could lower living standards and that Protestants in Ulster fear the church-dominated government of the Irish Republic might endanger their religious rights.

"Not only does an all-Ireland proposal incur the opposition of the Protestant community, but it doesn't even have majority support in the Catholic community," Cushnahan added.

An independent Northern Ireland would be equally unsuccessful because such a state would be economically unviable and British withdrawal could lead to civil war, he said.

Para-militaries

"With the British referee out of the ring, Catholic and Protestant para-militaries would each be going for victory over the other," he said, adding, "with such diametrically opposed objectives, a civil war would be inevitable."

Responding to audience questions after the speech, Cushnahan said that American involvement in Northern Ireland is not always beneficial.

Referring to House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill's (D-Mass.) planned visit to Ireland, Cushnahan said, "He might make an announcement about a federal Ireland, which would be unfortunate. His trip is for home consumption, not foreign, which is the tragedy of American involvement in Northern Ireland."