Unionist Politics
by Feargal Cochrane
Cork University Press 2001
The Mitchell Review lasted for ten weeks, until an acceptable sequence was
agreed between the UUP and Sinn Féin that would see separate statements
issued by both parties recommitting themselves to the Good Friday Agreement.
On 18 November, following another exhaustive round of meetings with all
the parties, Mitchell signaled that his review was complete and that the
outcome was a positive one. I believe that a basis now exists for devolution
to occur, for the institutions to be established, and for decommissioning
to take place as soon as possible. Devolution should take effect, then the
Executive should meet, and then the paramilitary groups should appoint their
authorised representatives, all on the same day, in that order. I hereby
recommend to the governments and the parties that they make the necessary
arrangements to proceed, and call on them to do so without delay. 39 Before
the Mitchell Review had been completed, Mo Mowlam had been replaced as Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland. Peter Mandelson was appointed to the job
on 11 October 1999 and immediately signaled his commitment to the successful
completion of the review process. 'There is no alternative to the Good Friday
Agreement. There is no plan B. It is that or nothing.' 40 In return for
the UUP agreeing to the triggering of the d'Hondt mechanism that would facilitate
the forming of the Executive and the other institutions 'going live', the
IRA would appoint a senior figure of its organisation as an 'interlocutor'
with General John de Chastelain's decommissioning commission to establish
a timetable for weapons to be 'put beyond use' by the original deadline
in the Agreement of 22 May 2000. On 17 November, an IRA statement was released
stating its commitment to a peaceful settlement and its intentions over
decommissioning. This was a crucial part of the jigsaw that would be pieced
together over the next two weeks and lead eventually to the implementation
of the Agreement. The crucial section of the IRA statement declared that:
In our view, the Good Friday agreement is a significant development, and
we believe its full implementation will contribute to the achievement of
lasting peace. . . . The IRA is willing to further enhance the peace process
and consequently, following the establishment of the institutions agreed
on Good Friday last year, the IRA leadership will appoint a representative
to enter into discussions with Gen John de Chastelain and the Independent
International Commission on Decommissioning.41 Everything now hinged on
a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council, scheduled for Saturday 27 November.
A hothouse atmosphere pervaded the unionist community and the rest of Northern
Ireland in the days leading up to this meeting, as Trimble made a concerted
effort to sell what was a substantial compromise to his party and to the
wider unionist community. In effect, Trimble was seeking to move from the
old mantra of 'no guns - no government', which had underpinned his party's
policy up to this point, to something akin to 'government, then guns'. Inevitably,
of course, this exercise in political pragmatism entrenched the divisions
within the UUP and was seized upon by anti-Agreement unionists. Trimble
admitted that a shift in his position over weapons decommissioning had taken
place, though argued that this was merely a tactical manoeuvre to achieve
the same end, rather than a compromise over principle. Unsurprisingly, his
opponents did not concur. On the day before the meeting of the UUC, Trimble
made an appeal to the unionist community in an article in the News Letter.
He argued that despite the proposed shift from 'no guns, no government',
his policy offered the best hope for securing the Union and of building
a peaceful future within Northern Ireland. The Mitchell review lasted 10
weeks. I now believe that the proposals agreed and on the table offer the
best chance we will get to achieve both our objectives of decommissioning
and devolution. Yes, it is not the same as prior decommissioning, but it
provides the only mechanism deliverable to achieve guns and government.
. . . It is time to put the Republican movement to the test. If this plan
works, Ulster Unionists will have secured decommissioning and devolution.
The prize is enormous. We have a chance on the eve of the Millennium to
build a society focused on the real issues that matter to our children.
We must and I believe we will, do our utmost to create this better future.
42 Trimble's opponents (including the majority of his parliamentary party)
refused to accept that this policy change would result in the achievement
of weapons decommissioning, arguing that the requirements of Sinn Féin and
the IRA were much too vague and little more than aspirational. |
