Time to grasp the nettles .........?

(1)There has been some progress but the various parties have yet to get down to serious negotiations about the fundamental issues. Possibly some of the parties have yet to face up to the need to reach a negotiated settlement.

(2)Some of the parties have made strong opening statements about their aims and these are fine as opening statements - if they do not move from these opening positions the negotiations will deadlock. It is time ALL the various parties to get realistic about these talks.

(3)Part of the problem may stem from the negotiating strategies adopted by some of the parties - they may be waiting for the "other camp" to come up to the "half-way line" to make some equitable proposal and then ,instead of coming up to this "half-way line" from their own side will very grudgingly move as little as possible past their own "base-line" to try to force the other camp into coming as far OVER the half-way line as possible.

(3)If any party has such a negotiating strategy it shows that they have not faced up to the full context and history of the problem. They have not progressed to the point of seeing that there ARE two sides to this situation, of seeing that a lot of the violence stems from a refusal to accept that there are two sides and , perhaps more importantly , have not faced up to the fact that the problem in N.Ireland CANNOT be resolved in any way that over-runs or oppresses either of the two main communities there.

(4)Perhaps the biggest challenge will be to find a set of relationships linking N.Ireland to both Britain and the Republic of Ireland, relationships which will let each of the two main communities express their national identity without oppressing the people in the other community.

(5)Freedom is of fundamental importance to the people in both of the main communities. Considering the freedom of the people in the Nationalist community the N.Ireland state should never have come into existence as a part of the United Kingdom in the way it did. Equally , considering the the freedom of the Unionist community , a United Ireland was not the answer. In such a polarised society as N.Ireland , "Consent" has to mean the consent of a majority in BOTH of the main communities - no N.Ireland as an integral part of the United Kingdom without the consent of the majority of the catholic community, no United Ireland without the consent of a majority of the protestant community.

(6)There are several ingredients needed to stabilize the situation in N.Ireland (and they probably all need to exist together)-
- The paramilitary groups should not oppose violently ANY agreed political settlement PROVIDED it has the support of a majority of the people in BOTH of the main communities in N.Ireland;
- The Republic of Ireland should accept (via a change in its constitution ) that unity should only come about if it has the support of the majority in both of the main communities in N.Ireland;
- The British Government should accept ( possibly by new Acts of Parliament) that N.Ireland should only be an integral part of the United Kingdom when that situation likewise has the support of a majority in both of the main communities.
- A new framework of relationships linking N.Ireland to both the Republic of Ireland and Britain needs to be set in place, relationships which will EQUALLY acknowledge both traditions. (Many people immediately think "Joint Authority" when they read a statement like this but Joint Authority is only one of a range of possible options. Other possibilities include cross-border bodies with strong executive powers or N.Ireland could be EQUALLY devolved from both Britain and the Republic of Ireland in such a way that both traditions are given equal recognition and neither state has any strong power over the region. The important thing is to accept that any settlement MUST have the support of a majority in BOTH of the main communities.(This principle is worded in some of the joint documents issued by both governments but the problem is that some of the parties do not accept it.));
- N.Ireland's internal bodies and structures need to be modified , where necessary , to acknowledge and reflect both traditions equally.

(7)There are also different problems with the philosophy/political viewpoint of both republicanism and unionism - in their most extreme forms both suffer from a lack of humanity and a form of blindness in not acknowledging the human costs that the implementation of these philosophies have / would have on a large number of people. In its purest form republicanism refuses to contemplate the abuse of freedom and oppression an enforced United Ireland would impose on the people in the Unionist community. In Unionism there is also the problem of not accepting that the N.Ireland state did not develop out of democracy and that its existence in its present form imposes a denial of freedom and an oppression on the nationalist community.

(8)How might it be possible to get all the parties to agree? Part of the answer might be to try to get the people on each "side" to try to put them selves in the shoes of the people on the "other side"-
- When Nationalists ask for concessions from Unionists they should ask themselves how much they would give up if the situation was reversed and the N.Ireland state had been part of a 32-county republic for the last 75 years and the Unionist community was now seeking links with Britain to acknowledge their identity;
- Equally , when making their own claims for a complete break with Britain they should ask themselves to what extent they would entertain the claims form the Unionist community for a complete break for N.Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in the reversed situation described just above;
- Likewise , when Unionists contemplate how much they should give up they should ask themselves how much they would have liked Nationalists to give up in the reversed situation described just above;
- When Unionists ask Nationalists to accept a situation where their identity is ignored and in effect to accept a state of oppression they should consider the effect the imposition of the reversed situation ( N.Ireland as part of a 32-county Ireland with no links to Britain to acknowledge their identity and right to freedom, as described above) would have had on the people in their own community.

However much separates the people of the two main communities in N.Ireland they should all accept the following:- links with the Republic of Ireland mean as much to Nationalists as links with Britain mean to Unionists(and vice-versa); being British is as important to Unionists as being Irish is to Nationalists (and vice-versa) and so on.

(9)The possibility is there for a settlement that recognises the rights and freedom of the people in both of the two main communities and that allows the people in both of the two main communities to be free , a settlement that has links to both Britain and the Republic of Ireland which express the identity and allegiance of the people in each of the main communities without oppressing the people in the other community. All of the politicians who have not already done so need to come out of their bunkers and actively look for such a settlement.

(10)The people in both of the main communities in N.Ireland are living under a cloud - not just the cloud of violence and instability and not knowing if large-scale violence will break out again. There is also the cloud of un-certainty hanging over the people in both of the main communities, the uncertainty of not knowing if , at some point in the future , their identity and freedom will be totally eliminated against their wishes. It is very difficult for people to lead completely free and happy lives with this cloud overhead. One of the benefits of a genuine settlement would be to remove this cloud.

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