 Belfast
Agreement
The opinion of Grand Lodge on
the Belfast Agreement as expressed in the run-up to the Referendum
in May 1998
Orangemen and women, unionists and loyalists, should say
'NO' in the forthcoming Northern Ireland referendum, unless
radical changes are ordered by Prime Minister Tony Blair and
his Government on the agreement reached at Stormont on April
10.
The concerns of the greater number of people in Northern
Ireland must be directly addressed and acted upon if a political
settlement is to have any credibility within the wider populace
in the Province.
To this end, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland has requested
an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister and, if this is
granted, Grand Lodge officials will be seeking firm assurances
and, where necessary, the removal of proposals in the Stormont
Agreement which are clearly at variance with the wishes of
the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland.
At its meeting last month the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
stated: "The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland takes note
of the acceptance by the participants to the talks process
of the document on April 10, but failing clarification of
certain vital issues cannot recommend it to the people of
Ulster".
Orangemen and unionists opposed to the agreement have been
heartened by the stance taken by Lord Molyneaux of Killead,
the Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution,
and by six of our Ulster Unionist M.P.'s who are Orangemen:
the Rev. W. Martin Smyth, William Ross, Jeffrey Donaldson,
William Thompson, Roy Beggs and Clifford Forsythe (since deceased).
Opposition to the agreement is quite definitely growing at
grassroots unionist and Orange Lodge level; and a number of
County Grand Lodges and Districts have publicly declared their
positions.
The agreement is a very green-tinged document which has been
carefully compiled to placate the pan-Irish nationalist front,
of which Sinn Fein/I.R.A. is an integral component.
The concerns of the unionist/Orange family and their opposition
to the document are fuelled by the following;
- The over-riding role for the Dublin government in the internal
affairs of Northern Ireland.
- Doubts over the future and integrity of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
- Failure to copper-fasten the decommissioning of illegal terrorist
weaponry.
- The prospect of an undemocratically accountable Northern
Ireland Assembly.
- The prospect of unrepentant terrorists in the executive of
the proposed Assembly.
- The inclusion of mechanisms designed to make further concessions
to the I.R.A.
- The spectre of the Maryfield Eire Secretariat operating under
another guise.
- The early release of terrorist prisoners, both republican
and loyalists, who have been convicted of the most heinous
crimes.
- The promotion of symbols and culture which are alien to the
great majority of people in Northern Ireland.
As it presently stands, the agreement reached at Stormont
of April 10 is something which very few unionists, if they
are patently honest, could live with. Therefore we would implore
pro-Union voters to have the courage of their convictions
and, with the belief in protecting their birthright and heritage,
they must do what is right for their beloved Province on May
22.
Only a dramatic intervention by Her Majesty's Government
to make the agreement acceptable to the unionist majority
in Northern Ireland will avert the disaster course our Province
in now embarked upon
See also:
Press
Release from the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland ~ 12th May
1998
Press
Release from the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland ~ 2nd May 1998
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