1 May 1997 Edition
Tough decisions for new British government
The new British government will have many tasks to face but the most urgent - and the one which holds the best opportunity for transforming the lives of millions of ordinary people - will be to deal with the conflict in the Six Counties.
They will be presented with the means to make history. Or they can continue with the failed policies of the past. If they decide to persist in excluding the representatives of the nationalist people they are condemning the people of Ireland to a future of conflict. Even by the standards of their own system, that would be undemocratic.
The new British government must recognise that conflict resolution requires dialogue with all parties to the conflict. They must learn the lessons of other conflicts and hold inclusive talks without preconditions. Histroy awaits.
It is going to take surgery to remove John Bruton's blinkers. He has such a narrow focus when he looks towards the Six Counties that he doesn't appear to understand what is going on.
His latest comment - that those who burn churches are ``de facto allies of the IRA'' - shows that he is blind to the sectarian nature of the state.
Before the IRA existed, churches were burned. When the IRA was moribund, churches were burned. And during the IRA ceasefire, churches were burned in greater numbers than ever before.
The Six County state was set up in such a way that sectarianism was part of its structure. Those who seek a united Ireland are aiming to rid Ireland of that structural sectarianism. Far from being allies of the IRA, the church burners seek to push back the chances of an Ireland free of sectarianism.
They will be presented with the means to make history. Or they can continue with the failed policies of the past. If they decide to persist in excluding the representatives of the nationalist people they are condemning the people of Ireland to a future of conflict. Even by the standards of their own system, that would be undemocratic.
The new British government must recognise that conflict resolution requires dialogue with all parties to the conflict. They must learn the lessons of other conflicts and hold inclusive talks without preconditions. Histroy awaits.
The perverse Bruton
It is going to take surgery to remove John Bruton's blinkers. He has such a narrow focus when he looks towards the Six Counties that he doesn't appear to understand what is going on.
His latest comment - that those who burn churches are ``de facto allies of the IRA'' - shows that he is blind to the sectarian nature of the state.
Before the IRA existed, churches were burned. When the IRA was moribund, churches were burned. And during the IRA ceasefire, churches were burned in greater numbers than ever before.
The Six County state was set up in such a way that sectarianism was part of its structure. Those who seek a united Ireland are aiming to rid Ireland of that structural sectarianism. Far from being allies of the IRA, the church burners seek to push back the chances of an Ireland free of sectarianism.