Ireland was on the Serbian conflict.

[Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim wrote something on the comparison of the IRA and the KLA, which I do
not intend to take up. I have only begun to read about the Balkans. In fact
I have spent so much time on Jared's posts this morning that I burnt the
bloody porridge yet again. Jezzuss, the smell of burnt oats in the morning...

However he did say that it was always a struggle to keep the Catholic
population true to the principles of Republicanism rather than have it
degenerate into a mirror image of the crude nationalism of the Ulster
Loyalists. That is absolutely correct. I think though that Jim would agree
that by and large Sinn Fein and the IRA have succeeded.

However what I would like him to do is to comment on the new phase of the
'struggle'.  We now have the sight of the Sinn Fein demonstration heading a
demand for the restoration of the institutions that the British Northern
Ireland Secretary, Peter Mandelson, revoked or rather put into cold
storage. I must say I am genuinely amazed at this turn of events.  I
suspect though that the Adams leadership had to come up with an alternative
to the renewal of the armed struggle.  They will not of course adapt the
genuine alternative to apolitical militarism.  This is local and national
resistance to the Orange State as the cutting edge of British Imperialism.
So we now have a revival of the old 'Civil Liberties for Catholics'
rhetoric of the 60s and Gerry Adams as some kind of latter day Martin
Luther King.

As Dr Johnson said about the dog walking on two legs.  It is not that it
does it very well but that it is remarkable that it can do it at all.

regards

Gary