The news from Northern Ireland that the Irish Republican Army has begun decommissioning weapons is welcome indeed. We do not know the exact quantity of arms and it is apparent that the IRA still has a lot of weaponry still available for use, but the step is hugely symbolic. It is also of great practical importance because it puts the peace process back on the rails.
Significantly, Northern Ireland’s Protestant politicians have agreed to go back into government after resigning because of the refusal of the IRA to begin decommissioning.
Chief Minister David Trimble resigned in July and his other ministers resigned last week. The latter resignations appeared at the time to doom the peace process.
Now the international disarmament commission, led by Canadian General John de Chastelain, has confirmed that it had witnessed the IRA “”put a quantity of arms completely beyond use”. The weapons included arms, ammunition and explosives, the commissioners said. They did not say how much of the IRA’s arsenal, estimated at more than 100 tonnes, had been destroyed. But Mr Trimble said the step was good enough for him and he would urge his party’s three government ministers to resume their offices and he would seek re-election as Chief Minister.
The move should not be seen as a win by one side or the other, but a win for all the people of Northern Ireland. The importance of a power-sharing arrangement within Northern Ireland cannot be over-stated. Direct rule from London and peace in the province are virtually incompatible. It is only when Protestants and Catholics have to work on the myriad of trivialities of government that the two communities can fuse. Working of things like parking, garbage disposal, health services, policing and the like will slowly bring the barriers down between people.
The leader of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, has obviously realised this. However, he has had to deal with elements in the Catholic community who are adamant about having a united Ireland as soon as possible and will use violence to achieve it.
Mr Adams, and, indeed, the Irish Government itself, recognise that a united Ireland cannot come about without the concurrence of the Protestants in the north. As things, stand therefore it is a long way off. If Catholics in the north want a degree of self-determination, therefore, they must seek it by joining a government in the province of Northern Ireland which is part of Britain and evolve slowly from there.
In Government, both sides can take the steps that will build trust and reduce tension. Decommissioning and cutting out the provocative July marches are only part of the picture. It is more important to make the weapons and the marching irrelevant by ensuring that practical grievances on the ground are met. In particular, it is important for Northern Ireland to have a more inclusive, and therefore more impartial, police force.
It is only when more Catholics move into the police fore and other critical government services that all the people in Northern Ireland will feel part of the community. It will only be after a long period of peace that the Protestants of Northern Ireland will not utterly rule out a united Ireland.
The steps from now will be slow but with any luck they will go in the right direction: more normalising of Northern Ireland society and more decommissioning. The IRA has taken a huge risk. That should be recognised. There is a danger than some radicals might be driven to some symbolic violent act to wreck what has been done. But for now hope has been renewed.