Ulster Cries for Quick Peace

In the long and often painful process of establishing a durable peace in Northern Ireland, this past year has been productive. First came the landmark Good Friday Agreements, which committed most of the feuding political parties of Ulster to a partnership of mutual respect. The agreements obligated the signatories to a new type of relationship within Northern Ireland and also between north and south and between Ireland and Britain.

Provisions of the agreements include release of prisoners, withdrawal of British military forces, establishing a human rights commission and creation of a police force acceptable to both Roman Catholics and Protestants, and there has been progress in these areas. In Belfast, the provincial capital, military patrols have been eliminated and checkpoints have been removed. This constitutes a remarkable change in the daily life of Northern Ireland.

Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreements, all parties in Ulster have committed to the preparatory work for formal transfer of governmental powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, an institution designed to represent both communities. But before the Assembly’s executive council is appointed, the parties must deal with a key challenge of their progress, the delicate issue of “decommissioning,” which means both sides starting to relinquish the arms of their paramilitary groups. The IRA, as the largest and strongest paramilitary group, should declare that it is willing to reduce its stockpile of weapons now. This gesture would build confidence in the peace process, and it’s time to show such courage.

But the IRA and Sinn Fein, its political apparatus, have refused to decommission, insisting that the Good Friday Agreements state that decommissioning may take place later, within two years of the agreements. That is indeed what the agreement states, but public opinion is impatient. Recent polls suggest that a huge majority of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, 84%, favor immediate decommissioning. The prospects for peace are always fragile, and the sooner the arms are laid down the better.