A close encounter
- 26 Mar 07, 11:39 AM
There are times when news is so long coming and change is so glacial that we are too bored to look when something truly momentous happens. Today risks being such a day.
Ian Paisley is meeting Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness. "So what?" you yawn at the prospect of more talks about talks after another deadline in Northern Ireland's "peace process" passes without consequence. Wrong. Dead wrong.
The leaders of once-murderous Republicanism and the man who for decades has bellowed "Ulster says No" have never had a meeting. I choose my words carefully. They've been in the same room, they've passed in corridors and, as I shall relate, they bumped into each other in a lift but they have never ever agreed to meet. That decision was Paisley's.
I recall as a young TV producer accompanying Paisley in a lift in 大象传媒 Belfast in 1994. All were nervy. We were escorting him to take part in what - if memory serves me right - was the first ever debate involving both Sinn Fein and the DUP. Actually, though both sides appeared in the same studio they weren't ever there at the same time. What's more, they were kept on different floors of the building to avoid meeting. The lift was the weak link in this carefully worked out plan. On this night it stopped, the doors opened and Paisley and I were confronted by a grinning Adams. "Hello Ian" he beamed. Paisley glowered back as an aide jabbed the button to close the doors. Naturally, they took an age to close. The smile on Adams's face increased.
Earlier that day I had greeted Martin McGuiness as he arrived at the studio. His car looked unusual - too low to the ground. I soon discovered why. This was known as his "two ton Cortina" - the weight coming from its armour plating. When the doors opened heavy metal chain clanked to the ground. The chain was welded to each of the back doors and a heavy lock held them closed - this, it was soon explained to me, was to prevent hijacking or kidnapping.
With all that in mind I laughed out loud this morning when I heard Adams say that he wanted a meeting with Paisley so that together they could stop Westminster from imposing water metering - that's right water metering - on the people of Northern Ireland.
What a meeting. What a day.
PS I was relating the tale of the lift at this morning's Downing Street press briefing when the PM's Official Spokesman Tom Kelly told me that he was on the other side of the lift doors with Adams. At the time he was 大象传媒 Northern Ireland's news editor. He's pretty cautious after seeing too many moments of optimism come and go - remember that thousands of people died in this conflict - but today he could scarcely contain his excitement.
