Jonathan R. White
www.cengage.com/cj/white
Chapter 7:
Long Term Separatist Terrorism
Rosemary Arway
Hodges University
The Irish Trouble: Vikings
 Irish culture originated with Celtic invasion 300
years before Christ.
o Never united as a single entity under a Celtic ruler or
political authority
o Government was maintained through kinship and
clans
 Viking raiders began attacking Ireland about 800
C.E.
 Brian Boru was declared High King of Ireland in
1014 and successfully revolted against the
Vikings.
The Irish Trouble: The Normans
 Normans were attracted to fortifications offered
by Irish cities
o As well as the agricultural wealth of the interior
 Normans were descendants of William the
Conqueror.
o Had ambitions for extending their domains
o Staked territorial claims in Ireland
o Found success due to new methods of warfare
 Normans ruled Ireland from 1171 till
1601.
The Irish Trouble: The Normans
 Normans built castles to control Irish cities.
o Irish peasants generally dominated rural areas.
o The Irish maintained cultural and religious
traditions.
 The Irish and English vied for dominance –
Irish maintained tribal customs and clan
structure ending in 1601.
 Irish nobles fled for mainland Europe.
 English and Scottish settlers laid claim to
Ireland.
Reformation and Ireland
 Protestant Reformation had tremendous
impact on Ireland.
 King Henry VIII created independent Church of
England in Ireland.
o Irish Catholics revolted.
o Trouble created by Reformation continues today.
 Elizabeth I
o Plantation of Ulster
o Ethnic division in Ireland fueled by religious
differences and animosities.
Reformation and Ireland
 Ireland in 1600s dominated by three
major issues:
o First, Plantation of Ulster displaced Irish
peasants.
▪ Conquest not colonization
o Second, English Civil War came to Ireland.
▪ Cromwell slaughtered thousands
o Third, Ireland became base from which to
revolt against William of Orange.
▪ Apprentice Boys
Republican Revolutionaries
 Protestants and Catholics joined together for
independence – they called themselves the
Society of United Irishmen.
o Theobald Wolfe Tone:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Member of Church of Ireland
Demanded freedom for Catholics
Demanded the end of Penal laws
Irish independence more important than religious
differences
Led French troops in a revolt
 Facing a French invasion from Ireland, United
Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1801.
Home Rule
 Act of Union – gave Ireland voice in the British
Parliament
 Home Rule (Daniel O’Connel, Charles Parnell,
John Redmont) – legislative drive for
independence
o Second parliament for Ireland free from direction
British control
o Ireland would remain part of United Kingdom
o Citizens would swear allegiance to British
monarchy
o Exercise autonomy through their own prime
minister and legislative body
Home Rule: Unionists
 Protestants in the north were not in favor
of Home Rule; they wanted to remain
under British rule.
o
o
o
o
Afraid of Catholics in the south
Felt they would lose status
Outnumbered Catholics
Irish Protestant Unionists began to militarize
their Orange organizations
Early Irish Republican Army (IRA)
 Bell: Definitive treatise on origins and
development of IRA.
o Began with campaign of violence by Irish
Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in late 1800s.
o Bombings and assassinations from 18701916.
o IRB activities frightened Irish citizens.
o IRB leadership was dominated by men who
believed each generation produced warriors
who would fight for independence.
o Provided basis for resurgence of Irish culture.
The Easter Rising
 British promised home rule to Ireland at
the end of WWI.
 Pearse and Connolly led a revolt in
Dublin on Easter Day 1916.
o They announced revolutionaries had formed
an Irish Republic.
 Britain fought back militarily.
 IRB transformed into IRA.
1916 Easter Rising
 Political party of republicanism, Sinn
Fein, had not gathered public support.
o Irish popular opinion favored Home Rule
o Uprising failed
o British overreacted
▪ Death sentences
▪ Prison sentences
o Execution of Pearse and Connelly garnered
public sympathy
The Black and Tan War
 Sinn Fein continued its activities in spite of the
failure of the Easter Rising
o Rejection of the home rule
o Demand of a complete free state without British
participation in Irish politic
 Michael Collins:
o Revolution must be systematic, organized, and
ruthless
o Studied tactics of earlier anarchists and terrorists
o Developed selective terrorism:
 After months of planning, recruiting and organizing
Collins launched the IRA
The Black and Tan War
 Collins continued campaign of terror
against unionist and the RIC – Royal Irish
Constabulary
 British response was hastily formed
 Military force called the Black and Tans
(because of their mismatched uniforms)
invited Ireland
o Both sides employed tactics of murder and
mayhem.
o Conflict became known as The Black and Tan
War.
Separation and Independence
 Seeking to end violence in Ireland,
politicians in Britain and Ireland formulated
steps to grant Irish independence.
 Protestant unionists feared abandonment
by British.
 1921 treaty between Britain and Ireland
(Micheal Collins):
o Ireland would be granted independency.
o Ulster would remain under British protection.
o Southern Ireland became the Free State – the
Republic of Ireland.
Separation and Independence
 Civil war broke out
o IRA fought Irish government forces claiming
Irish independence extended to all Irish
people
▪ Eamon De Valera
▪ Murder of Michael Collins
o Rejected British control of the North
o British tightened hold on North granting
special powers to combat the IRA
 Ireland became a divided country.
Trends in the IRA to 1985
 1927 – De Valera become Prime Minister
 1930s split in ranks of IRA
o One group of the IRA believed in peaceful
political expression of its ideals (James
Connolly)
o Second group of IRA (Provisional IRA)
believed that purpose of the IRA was to fight
▪ IRA was active in England from 1939 to 1944
▪ IRA launched ineffective terrorist campaign in
Northern Ireland in 1956
▪ Without the public support IRA called off its
offensive in the North in 1962
Trends in the IRA to 1985
 In 1969 Catholic civil rights campaign engulfed
Northern Ireland
o Demonstrations grew violent when Catholics
demanded same rights as Protestants in 1969.
 Economic situations in Northern Ireland
favored Protestant Unionists.
o 1922 – 1966 civil rights of Catholics in Northern
Ireland were reduced
o Economic power of Unionists increased
o Civil right workers and demonstrators become very
active.
▪
In 1969 demonstration march from Londonderry to Belfast
turned into fight with RUC (B-Specials)
Trends in the IRA to 1985
 British army had little to no appreciation of the
historical circumstances behind the conflict:
o Mistakenly allied itself with one of the extremist
positions in the conflict
o Republicans and Catholics became a subject of British
Army oppression
▪
Feeling oppressed they found help in IRA
 Unionist organization created terrorists enclaves
to terrorize Republicans
o Unionist terror was based on retribution
Negotiating an end to terrorism
 Anglo-Irish Peace Accord 1985
o
Establishing a joint system of government for the troubled area
 In 1990 IRA announced ceasefire
 In 1998 Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Agreement)
was signed:
o
Call for independent human rights investigations, compensation
for the victims of violence, and decommissioning of
parliamentary groups
 In 2005 IRA announced end of its campaign in 2005
 In 2010 the British Government, after conducting
investigation, publicly apologize to the demonstrators
for the Army’s actions in 1972 on Bloody Sunday.
The Basque Nation and Liberty (ETA)
 Basque region: located in Spain, extended over the
Pyrenees to France
 After the War of Spanish Succession (1702-1714)
the Basque region was granted semi-autonomy.
 Spanish power gradually enfolded the region in the
20th century, sharpening ethnic and ideological
divisions.
 In the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Republicans
fought Fascists.
o
o
Gen. Franco (Fascist) campaigned against Basque
national identity; he banned the Basque language and
cultural expression.
In 1950 Basques formed government in exile in Paris.
The Basque Nation and Liberty (ETA)
 ETA – Euskadia ta Askatasuna
o
o
o
Waged a campaign of violence since 1959 and has killed
more than 800 people.
Was organized by Basque students who were dissatisfied
with the accommodation of the Basque government in exile
(in France).
Claimed an historical, linguistic, literary, and cultural identity
that distinguishes them from both Spain and France.
▪
▪
▪

Firstly, group did not advocate violence.
Later ETA decided to take an armed revolution.
ETA split in1974 to ETA and ETA-M (militant wing).
After Gen. Franco death, the Spanish government restored
the Basque language and gave control over education to
local governments.
ETA tactics and Spanish Death Squads
 1970s
o ETA began a Marighella- style campaign of
assassination, robbery and banditry.
 1980s
o Most violent year, 92 people killed
o The emergence of the Spanish Death Squads
▪ Marital law failed, and Death Squads become to
torture and murder suspected terrorists and
supporters.
▪ Individual Death Squads evolved into GAL – AntiTerrorist Liberation Group.
ETA tactics and Spanish Death Squads
▪ 1990s
▪ ETA conducted sporadic bombings
▪ In 1998 ETA agreed to a ceasefire
▪ In 1999 ETA came back to fighting
▪ In 2001 ETA murdered thirty foreign
tourists, attacking Spain’s major industry.
▪ In 2006 ETA signed another ceasefire.
▪ In 2007 bombings reoccurred.
▪ In 2010 ETA signed another ceasefire.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Emil (LTTE)
 Tamils are an ethnic minority in southern
India and Sri Lanka.
 LTTE was found in 1976 by Velupillai
Pirapharan.
 LTTE population were bolstered by
religious and ethnic identity.
 LTTE used terrorism as a prelude to
guerilla warfare and to support uniformed
guerillas in field.
 In 2009, Sri Lankan government declared
victory over LTTE.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Emil (LTTE)
 History of LTTE struggle:
o After II World War Tamils were represented in
Sri Lanka government.
o In 1955 Sinhalese majority forced the
government to adopt a Singhalese only policy.
o The Ceylon (Sri Lanka) government (Sinhalese
majority) began to target minority Tamils in the
70s and 80s.
o Following Sinhalese rioting in 1983, the LTTE
mounted three on-again, off-again terrorist
campaigns.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Emil (LTTE)
 TACTICS:
o Standard guerilla tactics from 1988 to 1992
o Bank robberies, bombings and murder
o In 1987 LTTE pioneered the use of suicide
bombings
o In 1990 LTTE organized Naval force
▪ threatening shipping operations with suicide
boats and other seaborne operations
o In 1994 and 1995 LTTE organized itself as
a uniformed military force
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Emil (LTTE)
 In 1995 Sri Lanka government signed a
peace agreement with LTTE.
o The peace accord broke down and Sri Lanka
forces launched an all out attack on Tamil
strongholds.
 LTTE returned to the campaign.
 In 2002 ceasefire was renewed.
 In 2005 a LTTE sniper shot dead the Sri
Lankan Foreign Minister.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Emil (LTTE)
 Fighting resumed in 2006.
 In 2008 Sri Lankan Security Forces began a
major military offense:
o ‘no-fire’ zones were created
o Forces moved to Tamil areas
o Tamil population was given an option:
▪ Stay and fight
▪ Move to no-fire zones
▪ Sri Lanka won, but the International Crisis
Groups notes that there is still a danger that
ethnic violence will restore in the future.
Critical Engagement:
Separatist Negotiations
 Neuman:
o Nationalistic separatists present a unique
opportunity for negotiated settlements because
they have recognizable goals.
o The first step in negotiation is recognition of
group attitude toward the use of violence:
▪ Questioning the utility of violence gives chances in
negotiation.
o Secondly, group’s ability to control its own
members must be recognized:
▪ Lack of structure and effective command would
not help negotiation.
Critical Engagement:
Separatist Negotiations
 Neuman’s pragmatic guidelines for
negotiation:
o If government appears to eager to
negotiate, it may backfire.
o Agreement on a ceasefire must precede
negotiations.
o Negotiations must address both the political
settlement and the welfare of the terrorists.
o Negotiations must be broadly based.
o Terrorist must agree to become a part of the
democratic process and renounce violence.