Northern Agreement - Ambiguity threatens fragile peace

It is frustrating to consider that a question of semantics may be restraining progress in Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that the IRA statement was not clear and not unambiguous as far as the Irish and British governments and the US administration were concerned.

To that end, he enumerated three questions relating to the organisation’s commitment to end all activities, to put all its arms beyond use and its position on a final closure of the conflict.