Ulster in Danger of Sliding Back

Conflict has prevailed in Ireland since the Normans landed in 1169. The centuries have seen the people of Ulster, the northern tip of the island, struggling through short intervals of tranquillity and long periods of war, but at no other time had the prospect of a lasting political settlement between the Irish and English communities seemed so close as recently. Under a new Northern Ireland Assembly, Catholics and Protestants for the first time had begun to govern themselves--a remarkable achievement. But now the old stalls and troubles have returned.

Achieving governmental power sharing was not easy. David Trimble, the head of the Ulster Unionist Party, had to overcome the objections of his own party, persuading members to suspend a policy that precluded forming a government before the decommissioning of arms had begun.

The Good Friday agreement, signed in 1998, committed Sinn Fein to persuade the Irish Republican Army to complete disarmament by May 2000. To appease his party members Trimble vowed he would quit the new government if the IRA had not begun to disarm by February. Now February has arrived without disarmament, putting Trimble in political jeopardy.

With decommissioning at a standstill, the political consensus that helped establish the Northern Ireland Assembly is falling apart and the British government might be forced to suspend the Assembly and resume direct rule. That would be a huge setback.

Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams argues that the 2 1/2-year-old cease-fire observed by the IRA proves its commitment to peace. Adams should know that is not enough. What is needed is proof that the IRA is taking the necessary steps to disarm. Instead, the paramilitary organization remains stubbornly quiet on the issue of arms.

The decommissioning should begin at once, and all parties should, with good sense and a willingness to capture a historic moment, renew their commitment to work in the political realm. That means compromise. To fail would mean stumbling back to uncertainty and violence. This is a time for political courage.