Time for resolute leadership
By Mary Maguire
As the crunch 15 February vote draws closer, nationalist concerns
about the peace process are deepening. Next Monday, the Assembly will
vote on the Final Report on the Assembly departments and the
All-Ireland bodies.
On Wednesday evening, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness held a
routine meeting with the British Secretary of State. They urged Mo
Mowlam to ensure that the crucial vote on Monday would effectively
trigger the establishment of the shadow Executive and the All-Ireland
ministerial council in preparation for the 10 March devolution of
power.
So far, the substance and drafting of the Report have been used by
David Trimble and the Unionist parties as a political card to gain
time and prevent the full implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement. The debates surrounding the Report have also been
exploited and used as a key instrument of David Trimble's politics of
exclusion and obstruction.
In reality, there is not and has never been any precondition to the
full implementation of all provisions of the Good Friday Agreement
and Sinn Féin's entry into government. David Trimble himself already
admitted this on 18 February in the Assembly.
In this context of a deepening political crisis, Monday's vote can
only be a key moment in advancing the peace process. The formal
adoption of the final report must immediately trigger the
establishment of the Assembly Executive, the All-Ireland Ministerial
Council and the All-Ireland bodies.
While the document is ratified, all parties - and more importantly
the Irish and British governments - have to show resolute leadership
and stand up to their commitments.
It is urgent that such leadership is now shown and that the various
bodies be established as this process will help alleviate widespread
concerns.
These past weeks, nationalists have been alarmed by indications that
the vote may kick-start a new political tug-of-war during which
Unionists and the No-camp mentors will attempt to further torpedo the
peace process and introduce new preconditions aimed at excluding Sinn
Féin and renegotiating
the Agreement.
This past week, nationalist fears have been heightened by David
Trimble's attempts to renegotiate the Agreement, his increasingly
negative tone when speaking about the whole peace process and a
blatant lack of equality in the decision-making process. Feelings of
frustration are also growing as the two governments are assisting
Unionists in building a smokescreen around the real issues, thus
totally ignoring the grassroots consequences of the political vacuum
David Trimble has built and is striving to maintain.
The question of decommissioning is central to David Trimble's
cover-up attempt. Although he himself has dismissed it as a
precondition to any progress, the issue is being used to further
demonise Sinn Féin. The British government, by failing to intervene,
is clearly walking away from its commitment and helping David Trimble
to continue and breach the Agreement.
Punishment attacks, and the Ulster Unionist Party's letter to Amnesty
International was a further effort to distract attention from the
implementation of the Agreement and attempt to exclude Sinn Féin from
the decision-making process. This is further worrying as it shows how
Unionists, aided by FAIT's Vincent McKenna and Patrick Mayhew, intend
to use human rights issues to serve the narrow unionist agenda.
The way in which David Trimble is unveiling his agenda is also
increasingly threatening. After having stated his intention to ``park''
the process and attempting to impose a Unionist veto by bringing in
preconditions, he is now actively seeking to renegotiate the
Agreement. The call for a new series of round-table talks and a
return of George Mitchell is inconceivable at this stage of the
process. The Agreement is explicit and Sinn Féin is standing up to
its commitment.
As the political vacuum created by David Trimble deepens, it is once
again ordinary nationalist people who have to face the consequences.
While the wave of sectarian terror waged by loyalist death squads is
intensifying, eleven nationalist families of the Garvaghy Road have
been forced to move house following frequent loyalist incursions into
the area.
Meanwhile, fears are heightened as pictures of loyalists rearming and
retraining appear in the media.
The presence of British Crown Forces is also increasing in South
Armagh and Tyrone.
The difficulties of the peace process have recently been presented as
a dispute between the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin. This
distorted view must be challenged. Sinn Féin has stood up to its
commitments and has no more room to manoeuvre. Attempts to corner
republicans are increasingly worrying as they only contribute to
further prevent a historical compromise from being implemented.
Almost ten months after the Agreement was brokered, the onus lies on
every party to stand up to its commitment. More importantly, it is
the governments who now have a responsibility to ensure the immediate
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. There are no
preconditions. The Agreement cannot be further delayed or diluted. It
is now time to put an end to the political vacuum, time to stop the
process from further sinking, and time for all parties to deliver on
their commitments.
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