One political reason that the Protestants opposed the CRA was because they thought it might be a cover for the IRA. The Cameron Report, ordered by the British government in 1969, was to find out about the CRA membership.

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What Political, Religious and Economic Reasons Led Many Protestants to Oppose the CRA?

In America in the early 60’s the Black Rights Movement used a non violent approach to get the results they wanted. Their success inspired other people, who felt that they were treated unfairly, to fight for their rights. In Ireland, 1967 the members of the Campaign for Social Justice and others formed the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA/ CRA). The CRA based their campaigns on those of the Black Rights Movement.

In August 1968 was the first Civil Rights March in Northern Ireland. 2,500 people marched from Coal Island to Dungannon to protest over housing discrimination of the Catholics.

Supporters of the CRA were varied, they included Liberal Unionists. Membership was mainly Catholic. As anyone could join the CRA some political groups used it as a cover for their needs, such as Eamonn McCann, who formed the Derry Housing Action Committee. The DHAC encouraged homeless Catholic families to squat in newly built council houses.

What Unionists wanted to know was who were the members of the CRA and was it just a cover for something more violent? But why did Protestants oppose the CRA?

The reasons for this can be split into three categories- social, political and economic.

One political reason that the Protestants opposed the CRA was because they thought it might be a cover for the IRA. The Cameron Report, ordered by the British government in 1969, was to find out about the CRA membership. Here are their findings: “The membership... was politically varied... included persons of... extreme Republican views as well as members of the Northern Ireland and Liberal Parties... membership is mostly Roman Catholic”, “There is no doubt that the IRA has taken a close interest in the Civil Rights Association from its beginning”. So, the IRA was involved, somehow with the CRA. But was it all a cover? The Cameron report goes on to say that the CRA “it was non- sectarian and concerned only with obtaining reforms and changes in the law”.

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Eamonn McCann’s views are different to those of the Cameron Report. The DHAC invited the CRA to hold a march in Londonderry. “None of the placards demanded ‘Civil Rights’... We used slogans such as ‘Class War Not Creed War’, ‘Orange and Green Tories Out’, ‘Working Class Unite And Fight’”. So other groups used the CRA as a front. Not necessarily just the IRA, if they did at all.

Another Protestant fear was that if the CRA was successful that they would want Ireland to become united. This too, was a Political reason. If the Catholics got equal rights ...

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