PEACE IN OUR TIME

Finally, we appear to have peace in Northern Ireland. I say appear, only because I am old enough to know that Ireland never follows the ideal political model of how democracy should progress. The hate, death, emotional pain and religious wounds that simmer beneath the surface of the nation will take more to heal than two “warlords” sharing the same table. However, as Churchill said “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Mr Adams and Mr Paisley now need to set aside hundreds of years of some of the worlds most hardened religious antagonisms and work together to create a lasting democratic framework which reflects all community wishes and aspirations. I remain convinced that both players have the ability to achieve this, but I fear that the “spoilers” will come from within their own ranks. Age is a great teacher and both Adams and Paisley have seen some horrific events in their lives. Despite being at the opposite ends of the political and religious spectrum, they have both arrived at the conclusion that violence will not prevail, and the answer may only emerge through the ballot box. There exists, however, a cohort within both camps who have not yet travelled this road, and it is from them where the rumblings of discontent will emerge.

These events have also caused me to reflect on the greater issue of how we treat world leaders who have been “associated” with terrorism and political struggle. The name of Gerry Adams has been linked with terrorist acts in the past, yet he now exhibits the badge of “rehabilitated” and is poised to become a leader of his country on the democratic stage. Nelson Mandela, who by his own admittance planted terrorist bonds, is (rightly) held up as a beacon of world peace and conciliation. That perceived arch enemy of freedom, Colonel Gaddafi, is now courted by the American’s as a bulwark to Middle Eastern fundamentalism. Yet three years ago he was held ultimately responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. I often wonder how Hitler would be treated in this age; whether the Orwellian approach that dominates “1984” would have been used to shift alliances, or whether as a nation we would have had the back bone as we did in 1939 to stand up to him. Hopefully, we will never have to face such a decision again.