Politicians scramble to save peace process Protestant Paisley seeks changes
to 1998 accord
ALEX RICHARDSON
REUTERS NEWS AGENCY
BELFAST—Politicians and bureaucrats are scrambling to save the Northern Ireland peace process after their "nightmare scenario" was realized and Protestant hardliner Ian Paisley's party took the most seats in province-wide elections.
Hardliners on both sides of the sectarian divide beat moderates, dealing a blow to Anglo-Irish hopes of saving the power-sharing assembly set up under a 1998 peace deal.
While Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) defeated First Minister David Trimble's Ulster Unionist Party, among Catholic voters, Sinn Fein — political ally of the Irish Republican Army guerrilla group — thrashed the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party, completing a sharp polarization of the political landscape in the British-ruled province.
London and Dublin had hoped a good showing for moderates would give fresh impetus to talks on restoring the assembly, suspended since October, 2002, when allegations of IRA spying brought down the fragile power-sharing coalition.
Instead, the extremes of Protestant unionism, which wants to preserve Northern Ireland's political union with Britain, and Catholic nationalism, which seeks a united Ireland, are in the ascendant and a lengthy period of direct rule from London looms.
The assembly was set up under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which aimed to end three decades of political and sectarian violence in which more than 3,600 people died.
But Paisley refuses to work with Sinn Fein, whom he calls "terrorists," and wants to renegotiate the agreement, which he sees as giving too many concessions to Catholics.
"We have to go back to the drawing board," the DUP leader said yesterday at his party headquarters in east Belfast.
"The Belfast (Good Friday) agreement has been over for a long time."
But Britain and Ireland were quick to rule out any renegotiation of the agreement and confirmed they would begin talks with the province's political leaders aimed at reviving home rule.
Britain's chief minister in the province, Paul Murphy, was set to launch a series of meetings with local politicians.
"In our firm view, the Good Friday Agreement remains the only viable political framework that is capable of securing the support of both communities in Northern Ireland," the two governments said in a statement.
The result was a bitter defeat for Trimble and prompted immediate speculation he might quit or be forced out.
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For the first time, Sinn Fein captured seats in Paisley's North Antrim `Bible belt'
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"I've every intention of continuing as leader," said Trimble, who shared a Nobel peace prize for his role in negotiating the 1998 accord.
As London and Dublin digested the results, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush expressed concern about their impact on the peace deal the Americans helped broker.
"Of course everybody is concerned," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. "I do believe that after having a taste of peace, that the people of Northern Ireland desperately want peace."
The Sinn Fein result was a triumph for party leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness — both accused by political opponents and British security sources of having been top figures in the IRA — who were confirmed as the leading voices of minority Catholics.
Underlining their success, Sinn Fein for the first time captured seats in Paisley's North Antrim "Bible belt" and in south Belfast — where its IRA links had previously put off middle-class voters.
Speaking to reporters at a Belfast counting centre, Adams was relaxed about the DUP's success, and gave a sarcastic response to Paisley's refusal to deal with his party.
"I don't know of anything within Christian philosophy which is not about dialogue and dealing with sinners," Adams said. "As a sinner, I offer myself up on behalf of those I represent to be converted by Dr. Paisley to his vision of the future."
Paisley, whose son Ian Paisley Jr. was also re-elected, wields his sharp tongue ruthlessly, proudly declaring that he has called British Prime Minister Tony Blair a hypocrite and a liar to his face.
His particular brand of angry oratory has set the standard for extreme conservatism in Irish society since he founded his own sect, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, in 1951.
While it could hardly be said that he has mellowed, Paisley's age, 77, has prompted speculation about his status as party leader and his ability to lead the party into the next period of political uncertainty in Northern Ireland.
His broad shoulders lack the forceful bulk they had when he roared out fiery sermons on the streets of Belfast, and he walks slowly and trembles slightly.
His deputy, Peter Robinson, now handles much of the Democratic Unionists' operations, and uses language about Sinn Fein that is a slight degree more conciliatory.
For now, analysts predict direct rule of the province from London will continue for a long time as Britain and Ireland search for a new compromise.
With files from The New York Times
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And your MoD wants to reduce military presence in NI? Nuts.
