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» WHAT PRICE PEACE?
Over 71% of the people of Northern Ireland voted for
the Belfast Agreement.
In it there is a procedure for reviewing progress and
finding ways to deal with difficulties.
Community Dialogue invite you to take part in this assessment
and let us know your conclusions.
Let us start by asking: what progress has been made
so far in the peace negotiations?
Achievements so far in the Peace Negotiations
1. Official ceasefires have been declared by almost
all the paramilitaries. Many lives have been saved as
a result.
2. In the Agreement eight political parties, including
some linked with paramilitaries, agreed for the first
time about the future of Northern Ireland and committed
themselves to use exclusively peaceful means to achieve
political ends.
3. They also committed themselves to a fresh start and
saw this as the best way to honour victims.
4. 108 members were elected to the Assembly.
5. The First and Deputy First Ministers were appointed.
6. Ten Northern Ireland departments were agreed, three
each to be held by the UUP and SDLP, two each by the
DUP and Sinn Fein.
7. The areas of work for the North-South Bodies have
been agreed.
8. Sinn Fein, the PUP, and the LVF appointed representatives
to mediate with the Decommissioning Body.
9. In the past year there has been more evidence of
the political stability required for inward investment.
10. The Victims Unit, the Patten Commission, the Human
Rights Commission and the Criminal Justice Commission
have all been set up.
Major concessions made by different groups
All the parties supporting the Agreement made very
difficult concessions. Other groups, however, often
failed to see just how difficult those changes were.
Unionists accepted:
1. North-South structures.
2. An Executive including Sinn Fein, assuming that all
aspects of the Agreement including decommissioning were
in their view implemented together.
3. A commission on policing which is likely to lead
to major changes.
4. The early release of prisoners.
5. A statutory duty placed on the Department of Education
to facilitate Irish medium education.
6. An Equality Commission.
Nationalists accepted:
1 Full recognition of the constitutional status of Northern
Ireland until the majority of people North and South
decide otherwise.
2 Limited North-South structures.
3. Changes in Articles Two and Three.
4. No certainty that the policing issue would be resolved
to their satisfaction.
5. A commitment to use any influence they had to bring
about decommissioning.
What do you think were the most difficult concessions
made by your opponents? Do you know what these cost
them?
Problems
Over the years we have solved seemingly intractable
problems. The Agreement itself is the most notable example.
Naturally, after 30 years of violence, there are still
outstanding issues. At the moment one block is decommissioning,
but there will be others in the future. Unless politicians
are able to handle disagreements without holding the
whole process to ransom the Agreement itself will always
be the victim.
Here are questions for both Unionists and Nationalists
to consider about decommissioning:
Questions for Unionists:
1. Are there other ways than decommissioning of showing
that IRA violence has ended? David Trimble has said
that if there were he would accept them.
2. If you had to choose between going ahead with the
Executive without decommissioning or seeing the whole
process fail over this particular issue, which would
you choose?
Questions for Nationalists:
1. Unionists argue there is a problem with Sinn Fein
members being Ministers in the new Government if they
are perceived to have a link with the IRA, unless a
start is made on decommissioning. Have they a point?
Or do you believe we have to live with this ambiguity
as part of the price of moving away from violence? How
then can Sinn Fein persuade Unionists that IRA violence
is over?
2. The decommissioning clauses in the Agreement are
vague. There is no requirement for it to take place
before the appointment of the Executive. But other clauses
are equally vague, and many Republicans would want these
implemented in a generous way. Could Sinn Fein fulfil
the greater spirit of the Agreement by giving a new
lead over decommissioning?
What are some consequences of the failure of the Agreement?
1 Direct rule by the British Government will continue,
but with the likelihood of much greater input from Dublin.
This may amount in practice to a form of joint authority.
2. The Assembly will be folded up and the possibility
of a directly elected government in Northern Ireland
will have gone.
3. Northern Ireland will continue to be run to a large
extent by civil servants.
4. Early release will continue for paramilitaries on
cease-fire.
5. There will be no decommissioning.
6. Articles Two and Three will remain in the South's
Constitution.
7. Nationalists and Unionists will have failed yet again
to build a political relationship with each other.
8. New inward investment, along with the jobs it will
bring, is likely to stall.
Possible ways out of the decommissioning impasse
How would you get around the decommissioning issue?
The following suggestions might help, but why not think
of better ones? If you send them to us at Community
Dialogue we will pass them on to the politicians.
1. Would Unionists go ahead with the Executive if the
IRA said the war is over and that they would decommission
within an agreed timetable?
2. Could paramilitaries show General de Chastelein some
arms dumps and let him revisit them periodically to
see that the weapons are not being used?
3. Why not make a sculpture of a peace memorial out
of weapons? Something like this has been suggested both
by a leading Republican and by Archbishop Sean Brady.
4. Use the steel from decommissioned weapons to make
wheel chairs.
5. The majority of Nationalists and Unionists want an
end to violence and a new start in Northern Ireland.
Does this mean that many are learning to live with ambiguity,
to take risks, nd not to box each other into impossible
positions? Do people see this as the best hope for the
future?
WHAT PRICE PEACE?
Over 71% of the people of Northern Ireland voted for
the Belfast Agreement.
In it there is a procedure for reviewing progress and
finding ways to deal with difficulties.
Community Dialogue invite you to take part in this assessment
and let us know your conclusions.
Let us start by asking: what progress has been made
so far in the peace negotiations?
Achievements so far in the Peace Negotiations
1. Official ceasefires have been declared by almost
all the paramilitaries. Many lives have been saved as
a result.
2. In the Agreement eight political parties, including
some linked with paramilitaries, agreed for the first
time about the future of Northern Ireland and committed
themselves to use exclusively peaceful means to achieve
political ends.
3. They also committed themselves to a fresh start and
saw this as the best way to honour victims.
4. 108 members were elected to the Assembly.
5. The First and Deputy First Ministers were appointed.
6. Ten Northern Ireland departments were agreed, three
each to be held by the UUP and SDLP, two each by the
DUP and Sinn Fein.
7. The areas of work for the North-South Bodies have
been agreed.
8. Sinn Fein, the PUP, and the LVF appointed representatives
to mediate with the Decommissioning Body.
9. In the past year there has been more evidence of
the political stability required for inward investment.
10. The Victims Unit, the Patten Commission, the Human
Rights Commission and the Criminal Justice Commission
have all been set up.
Major concessions made by different groups
All the parties supporting the Agreement made very
difficult concessions. Other groups, however, often
failed to see just how difficult those changes were.
Unionists accepted:
1. North-South structures.
2. An Executive including Sinn Fein, assuming that all
aspects of the Agreement including decommissioning were
in their view implemented together.
3. A commission on policing which is likely to lead
to major changes.
4. The early release of prisoners.
5. A statutory duty placed on the Department of Education
to facilitate Irish medium education.
6. An Equality Commission.
Nationalists accepted:
1 Full recognition of the constitutional status of Northern
Ireland until the majority of people North and South
decide otherwise.
2 Limited North-South structures.
3. Changes in Articles Two and Three.
4. No certainty that the policing issue would be resolved
to their satisfaction.
5. A commitment to use any influence they had to bring
about decommissioning.
What do you think were the most difficult concessions
made by your opponents? Do you know what these cost
them?
Problems
Over the years we have solved seemingly intractable
problems. The Agreement itself is the most notable example.
Naturally, after 30 years of violence, there are still
outstanding issues. At the moment one block is decommissioning,
but there will be others in the future. Unless politicians
are able to handle disagreements without holding the
whole process to ransom the Agreement itself will always
be the victim.
Here are questions for both Unionists and Nationalists
to consider about decommissioning:
Questions for Unionists:
1. Are there other ways than decommissioning of showing
that IRA violence has ended? David Trimble has said
that if there were he would accept them.
2. If you had to choose between going ahead with the
Executive without decommissioning or seeing the whole
process fail over this particular issue, which would
you choose?
Questions for Nationalists:
1. Unionists argue there is a problem with Sinn Fein
members being Ministers in the new Government if they
are perceived to have a link with the IRA, unless a
start is made on decommissioning. Have they a point?
Or do you believe we have to live with this ambiguity
as part of the price of moving away from violence? How
then can Sinn Fein persuade Unionists that IRA violence
is over?
2. The decommissioning clauses in the Agreement are
vague. There is no requirement for it to take place
before the appointment of the Executive. But other clauses
are equally vague, and many Republicans would want these
implemented in a generous way. Could Sinn Fein fulfil
the greater spirit of the Agreement by giving a new
lead over decommissioning?
What are some consequences of the failure of the Agreement?
1 Direct rule by the British Government will continue,
but with the likelihood of much greater input from Dublin.
This may amount in practice to a form of joint authority.
2. The Assembly will be folded up and the possibility
of a directly elected government in Northern Ireland
will have gone.
3. Northern Ireland will continue to be run to a large
extent by civil servants.
4. Early release will continue for paramilitaries on
cease-fire.
5. There will be no decommissioning.
6. Articles Two and Three will remain in the South's
Constitution.
7. Nationalists and Unionists will have failed yet again
to build a political relationship with each other.
8. New inward investment, along with the jobs it will
bring, is likely to stall.
Possible ways out of the decommissioning impasse
How would you get around the decommissioning issue?
The following suggestions might help, but why not think
of better ones? If you send them to us at Community
Dialogue we will pass them on to the politicians.
1. Would Unionists go ahead with the Executive if the
IRA said the war is over and that they would decommission
within an agreed timetable?
2. Could paramilitaries show General de Chastelein some
arms dumps and let him revisit them periodically to
see that the weapons are not being used?
3. Why not make a sculpture of a peace memorial out
of weapons? Something like this has been suggested both
by a leading Republican and by Archbishop Sean Brady.
4. Use the steel from decommissioned weapons to make
wheel chairs.
5. The majority of Nationalists and Unionists want an
end to violence and a new start in Northern Ireland.
Does this mean that many are learning to live with ambiguity,
to take risks, nd not to box each other into impossible
positions? Do people see this as the best hope for the
future?
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