Give Peace a Chance

The peace process in Northern Ireland rests precariously in the balance. On Oct. 29 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced that it had put a number of its weapons verifiably “beyond use.” This unprecedented move was a great step forward in what had been a faltering peace process, allowing David Trimble and his moderate Ulster Unionist Party to return to the region’s power-sharing assembly. Recently, however, the momentum has been stalled, as hard-line unionists prevented Trimble’s reelection and are attempting to block progress towards a lasting peace. Today’s Assembly votes will be crucial to maintain moderate leadership in Northern Ireland and to fulfill the promise of the recent breakthrough.

The IRA’s unwillingness to hand over its arms despite the provisions of the Good Friday peace accords had caused Trimble to resign in July. Trimble’s return now, coupled with the new constructive tone of the Nationalist forces, bodes well for a lasting peace process. At a time when extremism and terrorism are posing new dangers to the world, the progress in Northern Ireland provides welcome relief. Now the various parties must together seize the opportunity for peace and move beyond blind violence and sectarian division.

The road ahead is long and fraught with difficulty. On Nov. 2, two members of Trimble’s own party joined hard-line Protestants in the assembly to block Trimble’s return. Yesterday, other loyalists attempted a legal objection to a planned re-vote, which has been rejected by the High Court in Belfast. Nationalist extremists, meanwhile, exploded a bomb on Saturday night in the heart of Birmingham, designed to kill innocent civilians. The desperate attempts by hard-liners on both sides to throw the peace process off track must not be allowed to succeed.

Trimble and the moderate forces for peace are determined to give the IRA another chance to prove their commitment to the ballot box instead of the gun. Fortunately, a number of neutral assembly members have declared their willingness to support Trimble in an attempt to keep the peace process moving forward. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern must press ahead and ensure that these moderate voices remain ascendant. If all sides make a serious effort to grasp this new opportunity, perhaps Northern Ireland can at last receive the peace and stability that so many of its residents have long desired and deserved.