History's missing handshake
The historic implications of between the DUP and were today being explored on the front pages of newspapers across the world, from .
The word "historic" is often misused in Northern Ireland politics; but not on this occasion. Some reporters have noted the absence of a handshake at yesterday's meeting. even prints pictures of three other historic moments of reconciliation (Reagan and Gorbachev, de Klerk and Mandela, Rabin and Arafat) with the key protagonists reaching out to each other. But David McKittrick rightly points out that yesterday's image of two politicians at a table, workmanlike and ready to do business, is an even more telling image than a choreographed photoshoot on the White House lawn.
Both political leaders were careful in their language as they sought to build rhetorical bridges to each other's community. And, although Ian Paisley has built a political career on a foundation of religion and politics, on this occasion both leaders invoked divine assistance:
We must not allow our justified loathing of the horros and tragedies of the past to become a barrier to creating a better and more stable future In looking to that future, we must never forget those who have suffered during the dark period from which we are, please God, emerging. -- IAN PAISLEY
Ach t谩 tus nua ann anois le cuidi煤 De." [But there is a new start now, with the help of God.]-- GERRY ADAMS
On the basis of this unprecedented agreement to share power, Tony Blair is introducing emergency legislation to devolve power to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May. That's a significant date, since some Downing Street sources claim that is the date pencilled in for Mr Blair's resignation announcement. I suspect the Prime Minister will now wait until at least the next day to make his retirement statement, the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland providing him with a timely and triumphal exit from British politics. By that point, Mr Blair will be glad of a good news story -- if, as expected, the in the Scottish Parliament election on 3 May.
In the meantime, the task of building a political coalition that can shape the future of Northern Ireland appears to have begun in earnest. Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness are to have regular meetings. Sinn Fein and the DUP are talking and planning for government. And, very significantly, they are joining forces in their bid to persuade Gordon Brown to get his wallet out again. Mr Paisley may in the process, but he has clearly set his face in the direction of power-sharing. Now comes what commentators like to call "real politics" -- though, in truth, there was nothing un-real about the politics of conflict. , , building the local economy, developing tourism, and a host of other issues still in need of an executive stategy. It's going to be a busy six weeks.
Comments
Having lost one of my family with a gunshot to the head, and having another paralyzed in a machine gun attack I hope it is now over.
In his book "On Forgiveness" Holloway quotes Jacques Derrida:
"There is only forgiveness, if there is any, where there is the unforgiveable"
Holloway goes on to say:
The fundamental insight is that we can and must retain an attitude of disgust towards the offending act, if we are to justify the legitimate claims of human justice; nevertheless, we must find a way of preventing these irreversible offences from locking us permanently into the past; and the remedy for the dilemma is forgiveness of the person, not what the person has done.
My wish is that we now forgive one another and let the offending acts slip into history's past.
Regards,
Michael
Gerry Adams has now joined the Ian Paisley as a full member, I wonder what his first book will be, any suggestions for Gerry's first book.
Each side has called the other a gang of murderous terrorists. Which side is right? Both are. It's easy to forget in the euphoria of the moment that both Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams were at least indirectly responsible for enormous violence in which many thousands of innocent people were badly injured and killed. The agreement they signed yesterday could have been signed decades ago sparing countless victims and their families a lifetime of anguish. It seemed to me that these two men more closely resembled mafia Dons agreeing to a truce between their warring gangs than statesmen. A more appropriate venue for both of them as far as I am concerned would have been in the defendants dock at the International Criminal Court in the Hague charged with crimes against humanity but nobody seems to see it that way, everyone seems to have forgotten about their victims.
Blessed are the peacemakers but also forgotten are the peacemakers as well. Hardly a word was mentioned about Senator George Mitchel who somehow got the two sides together to sit down and talk, starting the process going when their hatred for each other was too great for them to do it themselves, their concern for their respective causes too intense for them to care how many died on either side in the service of it.
By the way, I don't see this as being in any way comparable to any of the three analogies published in the independent referenced in the blog. They were all violent conflicts but that's all they had in common.
Having finally put a stop to it, better late than never has never been an acceptable defense for mass murder in any court I ever heard of. People of conscience on all sides should be outraged for what they've both done with their lives.
Mark - no-one has forgotten the victims of the Troubles.
Jen Erik #4
With all of the congratulations and accolades for these "two men of peace" you'd never know it. Is it one of those dirty little secrets everyone knows but nobody ever talks about?
"The Troubles." Nice euphemism for decades of mass murdering terrorist assassins on both sides gone wild....or should I call them "militants" the term 大象传媒 always prefers. And all in the name of their Christian god. Is Al Qaeda any worse?
Northern Ireland news is the most frustrating kind, because it always involves a kind of political dance where two steps forward are accompanied by one step back.
But I found this meeting and the accompanying pictures truly amazing, and I really believe this is the beginning of the end of the kind of conflict that's been known in NI for so long. Paisley is being a leader, and he's being a pioneer. Frankly, I'm impressed. I know how uncomfortable this is for him and yet how necessary it is: this is about the future now, not the past.
Since both Adams and Paisley invoked God, let's say this: thank God for the reconciliatory part of human nature that's responsible for this news.
Two "philosophers" whose philosophy was derived from the same book. At least one of them had "flawed logic." Mr. Wright, which one was it? Well I suppose that depends on whether you are Protestant or Catholic. Funny how both were adamant about killing followers of the other side and now their philosophy has changed, they no longer feel that way. The temptation is overwhelming to ask both the question any attorney invariably asks a witness for the opposing side when he changes his story; when were you lying, when you told us story "A" in the past or now when you are telling us story "B"? And to think people's lives depend on these jokers.
I really hope this is the beginnings of real politics in NI.
I just wonder at the patience of the electorate in NI who seem to have been up the aisle more times than a frequent thing, only to be left jilted as yet another "process" breaks down.
I won't be breaking out the confetti just yet.
Mark- Unless you are from Northern Ireland it is very difficult to assess news like this with any sense of perspective to the degree that you'd actually know what the hell you're talking about. The situation in NI is -unfortunately - far from ideal. Would that NI had a clean slate and could start with 'normal' politicians and 'normal' democracy; that is not possible at this time, for reasons of immense historical complexity, and if you were intimately knowledgeable about NI affairs you'd be aware of the significance of the photograph accompanying this post.
I love principles and justice and I have strong ideals about the role of government, more than most people I know. I don't treasure the idea of former terrorists or terrorist sympathisers running my country. But there's always a route to follow to achieve the ideal goal - in any nation - and for NI that route is a long, unusual, and very frustrating path which most of the citizens of NI are entirely fed up with at this stage.
I voted 'NO' to the Belfast Agreement. It was everything I loathed: it was unprincipled, it was unjust, and it was not in the least ideal. But there came a time when, horrible as the contents of that agreement were, the results bore fruit and became the road to recovery for NI, even in the unpleasantness of what it entailed. In a situation with no ideal, the Agreement was the 'least worst' alternative and actually made some promises of good to the people, and a way out. As you point out, George Mitchell was a key component of making that work. I wouldn't say I was proved wrong by the results of the Agreement, and I don't believe Paisley was wrong to oppose it at the time, but the simple fact is that NI is a different place, as a product of the Agreement, a decade later. If the only way out of a marsh is to swim with crocodiles, having staunch principles about not swimming with crocodiles will only keep you in the marsh forever.
The point is that Paisley and Adams are The Leaders who are going to carry NI through this phase, and hopefully it will lead to some real politicians and some real politics in the future. They're not perfect, but they're what we've got, and moreover, they're what is required by the moment, and I believe history will show that to be true. Complaining about what they were isn't going to get anyone anywhere. But, if you knew NI at all, you'd know that.
Well said John. It's easy for outsiders to misunderstand a political system. Mark's missing the point. This is a truly remarkable week. Never before have I felt like this. The Troubles are over and no one in NI now denies that. We've started again. This is not the time for cynicism. There's a time for relief and a time for joy too.
Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, Paisley has become his own antithesis, a political ecumenist, a paradox.
Those that form an ignorant perception of the political picture of Northern Ireland politics is one that is born out of political naivety of the Northern Ireland situation, it doe's not only apply to those that are looking in from the outside even the majority of NI voters suffer from this naivety, the significance of the above picture is that it is over 30yrs old, it is a picture of the Anglo Irish Agreement and the Belfast agreement in 鈥淭he Sunningdale Agreement鈥 being signed, the only difference being that the Coup d鈥檈tat has now been completed by the odd bedfellows of Protestant fundamentalism in Paisley and unrepentant terrorists of Sinn Fein/IRA whom paisley has now lay down with, the power struggle for control of Unionism and Nationalism/Republicanism has now been rubber stamped, Paisley has replaced Brian Faulkner and Gerry Adams has replaced Gerry Fitt and the innocent people of Northern Ireland have been used as sacrificial pawns for nearly 40yrs in their costly game of political struggle to be #1 of their respective political communities, Paisley has finally give in to the unholy trinity of pounds, prestige and power. "He is a leper."
Before the stone throwers start casting the verbal stones at me, as a 10yr old in 1969 I was evacuated from my home 5 times in the early hours of the morning inside the space of one month and during that time I witnessed a woman being shot in front of me while being evacuated, I was in an explosion in 1973, 3 school friends were murdered, 2 in two different explosions, and one being shot dead, 2 members of my family were shot dead, and my father had to patrol the streets where I lived as a vigilante so that our family along with other families could sleep in their beds at night, what has this all been for. Paisley and Adams are slow learners they have finally caught up 34years later.
I would suggest that anyone who wants to be informed about D.I.P. they should read what has to say on the matter of Paisley or read Paisley by ED Maloney & Andy Pollak. A horror story.
"Democracy and terrorism can never co-exist in government"
Robert Law McCartney QC
John Wright #9
It seems to me that Paisley and Adams are the leaders who should be in prison for their crimes and it should be left to others who do not have blood on their hands and who are not such emotionaly charged symbols to move forward. Ignoring their crimes is not an omen of a future of justice, it's a sign of exhaustion from the past and creates the possibility that NI will be right back to where it was once it has had time to rest and recouperate. This is what happened in the Balkins in the 1990s. World War I ended in exhaustion in 1918 but the issues were never truely resolved and outside powers, Greece and Turkey were ready to take up where their grandfathers and great grandfathers had left off, their passions still running high. That's the real reason the US had to get involved in it. Adams' and Paisley's views are too extreme for them to be allowed to have any further involvement, their passions are still running too high. They have played their role, now it's time for them to bow out. Furthermore, history has demonstrated that revolutionaries usually make poor governers once the revolution is over. Castro and Mao Tse Tung are examples. What's more, every issue that arises could be filtered through the prism of the prior conflict.
I think it's interesting that you say that you have to be intimately familiar with a conflict, presumably to have a dog of your own in the fight to the point of being an emotionally involved participant to express a veiw. This should preclude outsiders in all conflict from voicing their opinon...the middle east for example.
Paisley and Adams are unsavoury Mark, but they are the ones the people elected. Let's not forget that. And neither of 'em came close to requiring a dodgy recount.
It's highly debatable any other leaders from the Unionist and Nationalist perpectives could have come to the table with a mandate from the electorate. These two men have brought their communities this far, and there is still a distance to go. Paisley and Adams are now required to make power sharing work, THEN might be time for a new generation of politician.
Ivory tower politics might make for a pretty blog post - this is the reality.
Re #12
I see a lot of sense in what Mark opines - Paisley and Adams should be voted out as soon as possible.
It's a remarkable thing that in a country that has one of the superior educational systems in the world people vote for the likes of this pair.
Look at the position that Adams took on being asked about the IRA council. Stupid question was his response!
The IRA and the parallel protestant thugs are now into the trafficking of drugs - too much money there for them to disband! Northern Ireland is going to end up with two Mafia families feuding over their terrority and businesses.
Regards,
Michael
Gee Dubyah #13
The Palestinians were dumb enough to vote Hamas to run their government. All that proves is how stupid they are. Ever since Hamas got in, it's been downhill even though they were already in a deep valley. If NI is dumb enough to stick with its terrorist leaders, it has only itself to blame if it has another round of violence in its future.
Michael Hull is right, IRA members were arrested in Columbia collaborating with terrorists there. They were involved in drugs for certain, a financial scheme to buy more weapons in exchagne for teaching terror techniques to the Columbians.
Why didn't someone ask Adams in the interview if he doesn't give up all organized resistance including the IRA Council, doesn't that proves he hasn't fully accepted the terms of the agreement and holds out the possibility of resuming his violence at some time in the future? If not, what possible purpose could it sever. The very same questions could be asked of Paisley and his thugs. The population doesn't seem to get it. Unlike conflicts in say the middle east, these two men and their organizations are mirror images of each other, cut from exactly the same bolt of cloth. That is why they and all of their associates must be gotten rid of. Now that the violence is over, the only chance for a long term settlement is a clean slate. How about a truth and reconciliation commission like they had in South Africa.
Mark- I prefer not to comment on the Middle East for that very reason. I'm not familiar enough with the intimate nuances of their problems to opine as you suggest. Paisley and Adams are there because the people elected them. Historically, they're there because they're the only leaders able to transition NI from the past to a future with real politics and real politicians.
RE 15.
I'm not sure Hamas were given a mandate by their electorate to move to conflict resoloution. Sinn Fein and the DUP have been, and if the electorate don't get what they want, I imagine the next election results will look different.
S Africa's transition from violence followed a similar pattern - ANC leaders have chequered pasts. In these type of conflicts noone has clean hands. Perhaps there will be a reconciliation commission - that would be welcome to bring closure to issues like Bloody Sunday and the missing IRA victims.
Sinthesis
Can you elaborate HippYy