32 County Sovereignty Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Francis Mackey[1] |
| Founder | Bernadette Sands McKevitt |
| Founded | 1997 (1997) |
| Split from | Sinn Féin |
| Ideology | Irish republicanism Socialism[2] Anti-imperialism[3] |
| Website | |
| 32csm.org | |
The32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to32CSM or32csm, is anIrish republican group that was founded byBernadette Sands McKevitt.[4][5] It does not contest elections but acts as apressure group, with branches orcumainn organised throughout the traditionalcounties of Ireland.
The 32CSM had been described as the "political wing" of the now defunctReal IRA,[5][6][7] but this was denied by both organisations.[8][9][10] The group originated in a split fromSinn Féin over theMitchell Principles.[11][12] The group was designated by the United States as aForeign Terrorist Organization.[13]
The organisation was founded as the32 County Sovereignty Committee[11] on 7 December 1997 at a meeting of like-mindedIrish republicans inFinglas in Dublin.[5] Those present were opposed to the direction taken bySinn Féin and other mainstream republican groups in theNorthern Ireland peace process, which would lead to theBelfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement) the following year. The same division in the republican movement led to the paramilitary group now known as theReal IRA breaking away from theProvisional Irish Republican Army at around the same time.
Most of its founders had been members of Sinn Féin; some had been expelled from the party for challenging the leadership's direction, while others felt they had not been properly able to air their concerns within Sinn Féin at the direction its leadership had taken.Bernadette Sands McKevitt, wife ofMichael McKevitt and a sister ofhunger strikerBobby Sands, was a prominent member of the group until a split in the organisation.
The name refers to the 32counties of Ireland which were created during theLordship andKingdom of Ireland. With thepartition of Ireland in 1920–1922; 26 of these counties formed theIrish Free State which was abolished in 1937 and is now known as Ireland since 1949; the remaining six counties ofNorthern Ireland remain part of theUnited Kingdom. Founder Bernadette Sands McKevitt said in a 1998 interview with theIrish Mirror that people did not fight for "peace" – "they fought for independence" – and that the organisation reaffirms to the republican position in the 1919Irish Declaration of Independence.[15]
Before the referendums on the 1998Good Friday Agreement, the 32CSM lodged a legal submission with the United Nations challenging British sovereignty in Ireland.[16] The referendums were opposed by the 32CSM, but were supported by 71% of voters in Northern Ireland and by 94% in the Republic of Ireland. It was reported in February 2000 that the group established a "branch" inKilburn, London.[17]
In November 2005 the 32CSM launched a political initiative titledIrish Democracy, A Framework For Unity.[citation needed]
On 24 May 2014,Gary Donnelly, a member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, was elected to theDerry andStrabane super council.[18][19] In July 2014, a delegation from the 32 County Sovereignty Movement travelled toCanada, to take part in a six-day speaking tour. On arrival the delegation was detained and refused entry into Canada.[20]
The 32CSM has protested against what it calls "internment by remand" in both jurisdictions in Ireland.
Other protests include ones against formerDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) leaderIan Paisley inCobh, County Cork, against former British Prime MinisterJohn Major being given the Keys toCork city, against a visit to the Republic of Ireland byPolice Service of Northern Ireland head SirHugh Orde, and against the Israelioccupation of Palestine and Anglo-Americanoccupation of Iraq.
In 2015, the 32CSM organised a demonstration inDundee, Scotland, in solidarity with the men convicted of shooting Constable Stephen Carroll, the first police officer to be killed in Northern Ireland since the formation of the PSNI. The organisation says the "Craigavon Two" are innocent and have been victims of amiscarriage of justice.[21]
The group is currently considered aforeign terrorist organization (FTO) in theUnited States, because the group is considered to be inseparable from the Real IRA, which is designated as an FTO.[22][23] At a briefing in 2001, a spokesman for theUS Department of State stated that "evidence provided by both the British and Irish governments and open source materials demonstrate clearly that the individuals who created the Real IRA also established these two entities to serve as the public face of the Real IRA. These alias organizations engage in propaganda and fundraising on behalf of and in collaboration with the Real IRA." The US Department of State's designation made it illegal for Americans to provide material support to the Real IRA, requires US financial institutions to block the group's assets and denies alleged RIRA members visas into the US.[22][24]
The 32CSM also operates outside of the island of Ireland to some extent. TheGaughan/Stagg Cumann covers England, Scotland and Wales, and has an active relationship of mutual promotion with a minority of Britishleft wing groups,[dubious –discuss] andantifascist organisations.[25] The James Larkin Republican Flute Band (founded in 1996) inLiverpool, and theWest of Scotland Band Alliance (founded in 1979)—the largest section of which is theGlasgow-based Parkhead Republican Flute Band—are also supporters of the 32CSM[26] (the larger flute band communities in these areas tend to be aligned toSinn Féin instead). As of 2014, the 32CSM's alleged paramilitary wing, theReal IRA, was reported to have been still involved in attempts to perpetrate bombings in Britain as part of theDissident Irish republican campaign, which has been ongoing since 1998.[27]
