How have the following three events contributed to the conflict in Northern Ireland since 1968? Internment, Bloody Sunday, and The Hunger Strikes.

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Florencia Rubio 10CB.

How have the following three events contributed to the conflict in Northern Ireland since 1968?

* Internment

* Bloody Sunday

* The Hunger Strikes.

All three of these events, Internment, Bloody Sunday and The Hunger Strikes, have contributed in a large way to the conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants since 1968. All three of the events are linked in some way to each other.

In the summer of 1969 there was a huge march that was called 'The Londonderry Apprentice Boys' march' this was followed by large-scale riots between police and residents of the Catholic Bogside district, in what became the Battle of the Bogside. In August the British government agreed to send in troops to keep the people that were fighting apart. When the troops first entered Northern Ireland they were in the 'Honeymoon period' because they were neutral. The Nationalists welcomed them because they thought that would defend Catholic areas. But they soon clashed with both Protestant and Catholic crowds and were accused of using excessive violence towards citizens. While all of this was happening the IRA was re-forming. The new Provisional IRA and the old Official IRA were both recruiting new activists and gathering weapons. The Prime Minister ordered the army to search the Falls road for weapons and IRA suspects, this turned many Nationalists away from the army and increased support for the IRA in Ireland and also aboard, such as the USA.
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In August 1971 the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner introduced internment. Internment meant that anyone the security forces suspected of terrorism could be arrested and held in prison without being charged or put on trial. Internment was Faulkner's attempt at destroying the IRA. Internment was a tactic that had used successfully during the 1950s, largely because it had been brought into force on both sides of the border at the same time. But to Catholics Internment was very biased, every suspect that Internment was used against was either a Nationalist or a Republican, there was no attempt ...

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