By Abhijit Deb, IANS
Mumbai : Respecting peoples’ beliefs will be a key to the solution of terrorism and the Kashmir problem, feels Ireland’s Minister of Community and Rural Affairs Eamon O. Cuib, whose country overcame a conflict situation with Britain by following the “middle path of peace”.
India and Pakistan need to “institutionalise an arrangement of peace” to find a solution to the vexed Kashmir issue, Cuib told IANS in a chat here.
“We have also faced the same situation in Ireland a decade ago that both your countries are facing today. But the United Kingdom and Ireland had found a middle path of peace by respecting each other’s views.”
Referring to the conflicts in Ireland between Protestants and Catholics during the latter part of 1980s over sectarian dominance, Cuib explained: “Northern Ireland, which was dominated by Protestants, was supported by the British kingdom and its connection with the rest of Ireland was virtually cut off, much like the situation that exists in Kashmir in your country.”
However, when Ireland and England became members of the European Union, they found many things in common to their cause and which paved the way for the solution of the problem, which at one point of time threatened to rip the social fabric of Ireland, he added.
Cuib, 58, who was also a member of the forum for peace and reconciliation during 1996 when the peace deal was stuck between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, said violence has nothing to do with religion.
“It’s all political violence, no religious community wants violence unless and until it’s aggrieved seriously,” he emphasised.
Cuib said that during his trip, he would try to highlight the aspects of Ireland as a tourism destination for Indians.
He also invited Indian filmmakers to explore the vast, untapped and rugged beauty of his country for shooting Hindi films. Present with him was Cyrus Guzdar, Ireland’s honorary consul-general in Mumbai.
Cuib, on a two-day visit in Mumbai, will celebrate the Irish Republic Day in the newly-opened Ireland consulate office in Mumbai Saturday.