Process needs credibility
British government must realise that nothing will ever
be the same again
By Marcas Mac Ruairí
THE sectarian murders in Poyntzpass on Tuesday night
should act as a spur to those taking part in the peace
talks to take seriously the efforts to find a
settlement.
The random nature of the attack displays what
nationalists in the Six Counties have been expected to
accept since partition was imposed. From the outset the
statelet was fortressed with a sectarian ideology of
blind hatred of Catholicism and the self-denial of
anything pertaining to the rest of Ireland.
It is this background from which loyalist death squads
find sustenance and to the same background that the
nationalist community waits for the British government
to invest the talks with some form of credibility.
As those same talks move rapidly towards a conclusion
in late March or early April, the shortcomings of the
process were highlighted in recent weeks when the RUC
were able to engineer the expulsion of Sinn Féin, the
very party which is most critical of it.
The militarists and securocrats within the British
establishment cannot be allowed to influence the
political drive towards a peace settlement. They have
an obvious vested interest in maintaining the status
quo and the continuation of conflict.
But the fear being quietly expressed around kitchen
tables and over drinks between friends is that the
British have already decided on their chosen solution.
People on the ground believe that the British do not
want to see dynamic all-Ireland bodies with executive
powers but rather want an essentially internal
settlement along the lines advocated by David Trimble,
a settlement which would need the acquiescence of the
SDLP and involve driving a wedge between that party and
Sinn Féin.
Not only does this fall short of what a confident Irish
nationalism will accept, but given the nature of
unionism such a move would have disastrous implications
for the future.
The confidence crisis in the broader nationalist
community created by the expulsion of Sinn Féin has not
yet been addressed by the British and a question mark
remains over the whole validity of the process.
There is an onus on the British government to urgently
take steps which will turn the current situation
around. It must show that the process has the potential
to deliver real and qualitative change. It is only by
taking such steps that the process can be shown to be
viable.
d as the clock ticks away, an early meeting between
Gerry Adams and Tony Blair would have obvious value in
helping to create a healthy backdrop to inclusiveness
and dialogue.
Sinn Féin remains committed to its peace project and to
a negotiated settlement. And likewise, as the time runs
out before a close to the talks, the need for
nationalist unity is greater than ever.
Failing an agreement and sufficient consensus among the
parties, the governments have indicated that they will
put their own proposals to a referendum throughout
Ireland in May. Much of the legislation surrounding
this has already been prepared.
David Trimble and the unionists will try to hold back
the tide of progress for as long as possible. They will
try to veto any mechanism for change and any substance
being given to all-Ireland institutions.
But there can be no going back and the British
themselves must face up to the fact that nothing will
ever be the same again. A workable settlement must
transcend all the failed models which have been tried
in the past. Tinkering with none of those models will
suffice. What is required is dynamic all-Ireland
institutions with real powers.
The task facing the leaders of Irish nationalism is to
maximise that change and it is only through a united
voice that they will be able to deliver.
Both the Fianna Fáil led Irish government and the SDLP
should be sounding out and taking on board the opinions
of their grassroots. The message they will hear is that
Sinn Féin should never have been put out of the talks
and that they should now be standing with Sinn Féin in
order to maximise change.
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