8 January 1998 Edition
Time for Britain to make an historic choice
1998 has begun with a familiar scenario. Innocent nationalists are killed by loyalist death squads while unionist and loyalist political leaders cry foul about `concessions' to nationalists.
It has been embarrassing to listen to the Loyalist parties trying to justify their difficulties with the peace process. They have cried about concessions to republicans yet they have not specified what those are. Nor, to the shame of broadcast journalists, have they been asked what they are.
They have produced a myth of constant `concessions' to republicans while the evidence shows that the surface of the necessary changes has not even been scratched.
Issues of equality and demilitarisation have been resolutely kept off the agenda by Unionists, with the backing of the British government's securocrats. On the ground military posts have been strenghtened and nationalist concerns about the RUC have not even been considered.
Equality in areas such as employment and culture is nowhere near being tackled.
Cries of bias are unsustainable. The evidence is simply not there.
And behind the pathetic nonsense of the unionist and loyalist leaders, David Trimble and his party have seen the chance to scupper the talks. The suspicion has to be that the Unionist and Loyalist leadership recognise that the peace process is coming to a head. They know there must be fundamental change - and soon. There must be a society based on justice and equality, something they are finding impossible to deal with.
Trimble, by his refusal to engage with Sinn Féin has always recognised that his job has been to hold back the progress of history. It comes as no surprise that the Unionists are being exposed as not-an-inch reactionaries.
That leaves the ball firmly in the British court. Mowlam and Blair have a choice. They can back unionist and loyalist demands for no change - in other words, follow the fine British tradition of playing the Orange card.
Or they can push forward a process which will bring real change.
They do not really have much of a choice. They can repeat the mistakes of the past. Or they can help produce a changed future.
Over to them.
It has been embarrassing to listen to the Loyalist parties trying to justify their difficulties with the peace process. They have cried about concessions to republicans yet they have not specified what those are. Nor, to the shame of broadcast journalists, have they been asked what they are.
They have produced a myth of constant `concessions' to republicans while the evidence shows that the surface of the necessary changes has not even been scratched.
Issues of equality and demilitarisation have been resolutely kept off the agenda by Unionists, with the backing of the British government's securocrats. On the ground military posts have been strenghtened and nationalist concerns about the RUC have not even been considered.
Equality in areas such as employment and culture is nowhere near being tackled.
Cries of bias are unsustainable. The evidence is simply not there.
And behind the pathetic nonsense of the unionist and loyalist leaders, David Trimble and his party have seen the chance to scupper the talks. The suspicion has to be that the Unionist and Loyalist leadership recognise that the peace process is coming to a head. They know there must be fundamental change - and soon. There must be a society based on justice and equality, something they are finding impossible to deal with.
Trimble, by his refusal to engage with Sinn Féin has always recognised that his job has been to hold back the progress of history. It comes as no surprise that the Unionists are being exposed as not-an-inch reactionaries.
That leaves the ball firmly in the British court. Mowlam and Blair have a choice. They can back unionist and loyalist demands for no change - in other words, follow the fine British tradition of playing the Orange card.
Or they can push forward a process which will bring real change.
They do not really have much of a choice. They can repeat the mistakes of the past. Or they can help produce a changed future.
Over to them.