12 November 1998 Edition
Back issue: Hillsborough - reviewing a failure
Three years after the signing of the London/Dublin Deal, which was sold in a massive media hype as the panacea for nationalist ills, British and 26 county ministers have met at Stormont to begin the much vaunted review of the agreement.
The meeting which was held to initiate the review, on Wednesday November 2nd, was remarkable only for the fact that the joint communique issued afterwards announced that the review would be limited to ``the workings of the Maryfield secretariat'' and would last until ``early in 1989''.
The approach being adopted by the British and 26 county authorities to the review is the strongest indication to date that even the authors of the agreement have now realised that there is no selling power left in what has turned out to be no more than the security trade-off predicted by Sinn Fein from the outset.
Hillsborough was never meant to address the grievances of northern nationalists. Three years on, and bearing in mind all that has happened since, it is no surprise that the deal's architects are shying away from an open review conducted under the full glare of media attention. That would inevitably show the singular failure of Hillsborough to deliver on any of the claims made on its behalf by the SDLP and the 26 county government.
The review process is due to begin officially on November 15th, the date of the signing of the agreement, and British direct ruler Tom King has said that he will welcome any submissions on ``the workings of the secretariat'' which must be in before December 31st.
The meeting which was held to initiate the review, on Wednesday November 2nd, was remarkable only for the fact that the joint communique issued afterwards announced that the review would be limited to ``the workings of the Maryfield secretariat'' and would last until ``early in 1989''.
The approach being adopted by the British and 26 county authorities to the review is the strongest indication to date that even the authors of the agreement have now realised that there is no selling power left in what has turned out to be no more than the security trade-off predicted by Sinn Fein from the outset.
Hillsborough was never meant to address the grievances of northern nationalists. Three years on, and bearing in mind all that has happened since, it is no surprise that the deal's architects are shying away from an open review conducted under the full glare of media attention. That would inevitably show the singular failure of Hillsborough to deliver on any of the claims made on its behalf by the SDLP and the 26 county government.
The review process is due to begin officially on November 15th, the date of the signing of the agreement, and British direct ruler Tom King has said that he will welcome any submissions on ``the workings of the secretariat'' which must be in before December 31st.