Historic move opens door to lasting peace

WHEN it came, ultimately, the statement from the IRA was unequivocal in its intent. It has ended its armed campaign and ordered all units to dump arms.

The armed struggle is over, and the republican movement is to follow the path of democracy, ending more than 30 years of violence.

In effect, those sentiments spanned centuries of conflict. Appearing, as it did, with the imprimatur of the Irish, British and American Governments the guarantees on pursuing peaceful objectives and that the war had ultimately ended, must be positively viewed.

While history cannot ignore the decades of sectarian violence and the thousands who died through the violent campaigns waged with bombs and bullets, it is, hopefully, a chapter that now has been closed.

Both Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the IRA move in a joint statement, the latter describing it as a “step of unparalleled magnitude”.

Both were unrelenting in their patience and their tolerance for more than a decade, since the 1994 ceasefire, and their political forbearance was acknowledged by yesterday’s developments.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams pragmatically pointed out, Irish republicans and nationalists face a challenge, one of momentous proportions, having taken the dramatic decision.

Equally, the trust of those they seek to convince also faces an immense challenge, especially unionists for whom previous IRA gestures have proven empty.

Earlier this year, Mr Adams had called on the IRA to use exclusively political means to achieve its ends, describing Irish republicanism to be at a “defining point. The peace process is at a defining point”.

The IRA responded by stating that it was giving due consideration to his appeal, and subsequently commenced an internal debate as to whether it should act on it. Mr Adams expressed his confidence that the organisation take the debate forward with all the seriousness that it deserved.

That sentiment has been exonerated with the organisation taking a major step along the road of democracy.

Too often has the word historic been applied to various events in Northern Ireland only to have the promise of peace and normality they held out dashed. Consequently, it is understandable that unionist reaction to yesterday’s announcement was couched in hesitant and slightly sceptical language.

But, as the IRA held out the real promise of a normal future for the North, so, too, must the unionists determine that they have a responsibility to endeavour that relations in the community are harmonised.

As they hope to share in a bright future, they must realise that they are part of its past, as well.

DUP leader Ian Paisley, was, characteristically, sceptical that the IRA had abandoned the armed struggle in favour of politics and democracy.

He is quite entitled to reserve judgement on the IRA’s bona fides, but he must realise that as leader of the biggest unionist party he will be judged, too, on the quality of his sincerity insofar as the realisation of achieving a peaceful co-existence is concerned.

Yet, if he is determined, as he wishes the IRA to be, he must apply himself to the good of the entire of Northern Ireland, not just what he decides is best for his constituency.

Decommissioning will be witnessed by the IICD and independent witnesses from Catholic and Protestant churches have been invited to see the process.

That is good enough for the two governments, and so should be good enough for anybody else.

Since it was sighed on April 10, 1998 the Good Friday Agreement represented the wishes of the majority on this island as to where the future of the North lay.

The GFA followed upon a multi-party political deal which ambitiously sought to create a lasting settlement after the 1994 paramilitary ceasefires in the North.

The South also dropped its constitutional claim to the Six Counties. There were also controversial proposals on the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, the future of policing there and the early release of paramilitary prisoners.

The agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by referendum in the South, where 94% of the people voted in favour of it, 20% more than those in the North.

Although the Northern vote, at 74%, was substantial it also indicated a certain reticence among a significant swathe of sceptical unionist voters and those who were reluctant to co-operate with nationalists and particularly, republicans.

While the ideological differences of the consenting parties were recognised in the Good Friday Agreement, it also reaffirmed their commitment to “exclusively democratic and peaceful means” of resolving differences on political issues.

The subject of decommissioning was always going to be a conflicting and vexed matter and parties were exhorted to use their influence to achieve it within two years after the endorsement by constitutional referendum, North and South, of the agreement.

Ultimately, it took considerably longer than such an aspiration.

Yesterday’s announcement should open the way for its restoration to be implemented again, such as the Northern Ireland Assembly with a power-sharing executive, the cross-Border institutions involving the Republic and a body linking devolved assemblies across Britain with Westminster and Dublin.