Unionists appear to eschew power-sharing
It seems highly likely that the UUP will suffer at the hands of the DUP and the two governments are dedicated to saving David Trimble.
The reality is that the IRA ceasefire has been maintained for a considerable time, and while Belfast might not be as peaceable as we would like, the fact is that the nightly "body count" there seems proportionately no worse than Dublin or Limerick and can probably be put down to the same cause: common criminality.
The court proceedings in Colombia, while embarrassing if Irish citizens were guilty of crimes there, has absolutely nothing to do with a ceasefire at home in any case, it now seems quite possible that this trial may collapse.
I would imagine that there are considerable strains within republicanism on this issue and Mr Adams is to be commended for dragging his colleagues as far as he has.
The bottom line appears to be that many unionists are not prepared to share power with republicans under any circumstances and will come up with an endless succession of reasons to stall what is clearly inevitable: somehow, someday, unionists are going to have to give their allegiance to the island on which they choose to live and to exist in harmony with the rest of its inhabitants.
Annabel Roberts,
The Rennies,
Nohoval,
Co Cork.
