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Northern Ireland breakthrough

Northern Ireland is poised to return to democratic self-governance more than four years after it was brought under direct rule from London. That happened after the elected government led by Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party collapsed following allegations of spying against the Irish Republican Army. Last week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern achieved a breakthrough in their efforts to broker peace between the warring Republican and Unionist parties, bringing the stalled peace process back on track. Under an agreement, fresh elections to the assembly at Stormont will be held on March 7 and, if the timetable holds, a new power-sharing executive will be in place before March 26. But this time Sinn Fein's partner will be Ian Paisley's hard-line Democratic Unionist Party, which earlier refused to sit at the same table as Sinn Fein, let alone share power with it. London and Dublin are conscious that, given the volatile nature of Northern Ireland's political situation, the agreement can unravel; therefore, they have drawn up contingency plans. Both sides have been warned that if they are not able to form a Ministry by March 26, the British and Irish governments will assume joint responsibility for Northern Ireland affairs. The disputants have been firmly told that this is their last chance to see democratic rule restored.

The political importance of the agreement, fragile though it seems, cannot be overemphasised. It is the result of months of tortuous negotiations in which both Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern personally invested a lot of time and energy. There were occasions when the talks teetered on the brink of collapse as Republicans and Unionists sought to exact the best deal for themselves. The two Prime Ministers must be commended for showing immense patience and persisting until a deal was on the table. In the end, the agreement was made possible because of the compromises made by Republicans who realised that peace demanded sacrifice. Some of the concessions such as abandoning the armed struggle to achieve their goal of a united Ireland, virtually winding up the IRA, and agreeing to support the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, are truly historic. The man who delivered all this, leading from the front at enormous risk to his own career, is the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams; he was once regarded by the British government as such a serious threat that even his voice was not broadcast on BBC. No doubt, there are still rogue elements on both sides ready to play mischief but with mainstream Republican and Unionist opinion on board, Northern Ireland looks set on the road to peace.

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