Ten years ago, 72% of the people of Ireland made it very clear that they wanted peace in our country.
They put their faith in their elected representatives to
deliver this peace and create a shared community. We knew it would not
be simple, we knew the process would take some time and we knew that it
would demand a good deal of trust.
The recent evidence pointing to IRA and Sinn Féin collusion
in criminality has forced many to question how they could have trusted
the Provisional movement when all along they were working to their own
agenda.
Many people feel let down and disappointed, many more feel disgusted.
Sinn Féin have a lot of work to do to convince the people of
Ireland – and their oft quoted mandate – that they can be trusted to
deliver.
The nearest they have come so far is a watered down Agreement
which they signed up to with the DUP in which they handed over vetoes
to the DUP and a new automatic exclusion of democrats, secured no date
for the devolution of justice and no new North/South bodies.
They failed to deliver by turning their back on the framework of the Agreement and its all important principle of inclusivity.
I recognise that the two parties currently commanding the
allegiance of the 60% of NI electors who bother to vote are DUP
and Sinn Féin and I welcome Gerry Adams' pledge last Saturday to put
the DUP to the test in presumably working towards another attempt at
devolved government.
However, he did say that if these two parties did go into government, it would be "a battle a day".
If that is the case, the experiment is doomed to failure for we
will have failed to confront the problem of antagonism, which is not
the same as dealing with political difference.
"A battle a day" would provide endless new sources for
spreading the infection of antagonism throughout our small society and
a lot of people – and some parties – thrive on that antagonism,
promoting a great deal of negativity.
All parties need to show their commitment to a shared future.
The SDLP are clear in our call for a shared society and believe that if
we are going to work towards reconciliation, then we have to find a way
of living together, not living apart.
There is a huge onus on politicians to deliver on
power-sharing but it is important that we are talking about real
power-sharing, not power-carving.
Our concern regarding Sinn Féin and the DUP is that ultimately
the only things that unite them are their love of power and their
hatred of each other.
That is why the SDLP had concerns about the so-called
Comprehensive Agreement and that one of the few shared features of the
Agreement – the joint election of the First Minister and Deputy First
Minister – was being abolished.
If politicians won't even be seen to share the same office publicly, what chance is there of sharing society?
The only true way to build the foundations of equality and
provide a shared and peaceful future is to bring forward the Agreement.
The longer it takes, the bigger the divisions will become.
