CAMBRIDGE LETTER
Finally, a chance for peace
BILL KIRKMAN
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Against a history of bitterness, Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams meet to work out a power-sharing agreement.
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IT was in April 1998 that the Good Friday agreement on the future of Northern Ireland was signed. It was the fruit of nearly two years of negotiation involving both United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland governments. Bill Clinton, then President of the United States, added his influence to the process.
Glimpses of hope
The agreement was the most hopeful development after many years of bitter conflict. In discussing it in The Hindu, I noted that the problem was not just a political disagreement, but a deep-rooted rift, grounded in the history of Ireland and of Britain's relationship with it. There were grounds for optimism, but it was qualified optimism. In a referendum a few weeks later, the electorate of Northern Ireland, by a large majority, endorsed the agreement, giving further grounds for optimism.
The problems and the disagreements continued. The attempt to form a government of the province of Northern Ireland through a coalition of the Unionists (Protestant) and the Nationalists (Roman Catholic) collapsed, and in October 2002 the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly was suspended. There seemed no possibility of a meeting of minds.
The impossible happens
Now, after endless painstaking negotiations, and endless patient commitment by Tony Blair and his counterpart in the Republic, Bertie Ahern, the well-nigh impossible has happened: Dr. Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, and Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, have sat together at the same table, and have agreed to share power. Hitherto, their contact has been nil. Ian Paisley has engaged in booming and bigoted negative shouting. Gerry Adams, against the bitter background of years of terrorism perpetrated by the IRA, with which Sinn Fein has been closely linked, has refused to accept the legitimacy of the police, and other aspects of democracy.
Against that history of implacable bitterness, the meeting of Paisley and Adams, and their pledge that their parties would collaborate in a power-sharing executive from next month, was truly remarkable. They did not shake hands, but in the photograph of their joint press conference, they were both smiling, and the atmosphere was described as cordial. The Independent summed the situation up well, commenting that after "many years, many deaths and much discord" the leaders of the sectarian extremes recognised "that the Troubles would not end in victory for one side, but in compromise".
Will the collaboration work? Will the power-sharing executive be a reality? You do not need to be a cynic to ask those questions. False starts and failure have long been a feature of the Northern Ireland political scene, and there has been a marked lack of vision and real leadership on the part of the politicians there.
Positive signs
Nevertheless, the omens do seem good. Since the Good Friday agreement, it has been clear that the people of the province have no wish to return to the violence and murder which were for so many years the background to their lives. The IRA have given up their arms. Sinn Fein has recognised the police force. The DUP has agreed to share power.
Both sides have been under pressure from the British government, which has been cutting public spending in Northern Ireland, and, most recently, threatening to introduce new charges for water, demonstrating that if the local politicians would not accept their responsibility to govern, their failure would be seen by their electorate as leading to the introduction of extremely unpopular measures.
Tony Blair has invested great political capital in bringing about the settlement. It would have been easy, and understandable, to lose patience with the Northern Ireland politicians. That would have been a low-risk strategy in domestic political terms, because in mainland Britain there has been little understanding of the complexities of Northern Ireland's politics, and the historical baggage which underlie them, and little interest in them. Many people have tended to see Northern Ireland as a depressing nuisance.
Flawed policies
The fact remains, however, that Britain is responsible for Northern Ireland, and, historically, British policy towards Ireland (before what is now the Republic achieved full independence in 1937) was deeply flawed. Tony Blair's commitment to finding a solution to the problems of Northern Ireland, a commitment which was shown also by his Conservative predecessor, John Major, is to his credit. If, as seems likely, power-sharing in the province works, Tony Blair, as he gives up the prime ministership, will be able to point to this as an unequivocal success.
For Northern Ireland, power-sharing will not bring perfect harmony, but at least it should begin the process of achieving it.
Bill Kirkman is an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge, UK. Email him at: bill.kirkman@gmail.com
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