Peace Process UPDATE

Published: 6 August, 2003

The situation is essentially unchanged over the past ten months of political stagnation and opportunities lost. The British Government is responsible.

1. Non-implementation:

The Good Friday Agreement, agreed upon 10 April 1998, is still not being implemented by the British Government. This is admitted by the British and Irish Governments in a joint statement after the 2 July 2003 meeting of the Intergovernmental council (BIIGC).

Under the terms of the Agreement, the British and Irish Governments have a joint and co-equal “responsibility” for implementing the Agreement, yet each cancellation, each suspension, every civil and human rights promise not implemented has been a unilateral, British Government decision. What is the British Government waiting for and why does the Irish Government put up with it?

2. Suspension of political institutions:

The most important democratic, political aspect of the Agreement – the political institutions which include a devolved Assembly – were suspended by the British Government in Oct 2002 in order to placate the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

This is the FOURTH time they have suspended the political bodies at the behest of David Trimble and the Ulster Unionist Party [UUP].

Political stagnation gives the governments an excuse for non-implementation. For example, four of the fourteen members of the Human Rights Commission have resigned in frustration.

3. Suspension of Democratic Elections:

Elections to the representative Assembly were statutorily scheduled to take place on 1 May 2003. The British Government changed the legislation to postpone the election [at the demand of David Trimble’s UUP] until 29 May. Then they suspended the election indefinitely.

The last time British PM Toni Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern met in early July 2003 to discuss the stalled peace process, they still failed to set a date for these democratically mandated elections.

The British Government’s unilateral decision to twice postpone the elections was supported only by the leadership of the UUP and is opposed by the Irish and US Governments, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and world public opinion.

The right to vote is a fundamental democratic right. Without elections there is no meaningful political process and a political vacuum can have nothing but negative results, or at the very least, lost opportunities that may never be recovered.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said on 28 July ‘03, "At a time when we're talking about both the British and the United States building democracy in Iraq, we ask what is the reason for continued delay for having an election in Northern Ireland."

4. The Way Forward:

All of the above must be made right by the British government: full implementation of the GFA, re-establishment of the power-sharing political bodies, and assembly elections called.

Pressure must be applied by supporters of democracy throughout the world, and that includes their so called partners in the GFA, the Irish government.

Key addresses -- call, write, e-mail the below:

* The Irish Government: The Irish Ambassador to the US is Noel Fahey. Contact him at Embassy of Ireland, 2234 Mass Ave NW, Washington DC 20008; phone 202-462-3939; fax 202-232-5993. E-mail: http://www.irelandemb.org/feedback.html.

* The US Administration: Dr Richard Haass [now Special Envoy to Ireland] c/o Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Room 7224, Washington DC 20520; phone 202- 647-2372; send e-mails: policyplanning@state.gov and cc the Secretary of State Colin Powell at: secretary@state.gov. You can ask a question or express an opinion at: contact-us@state.gov.

* Contact the President: President George W. Bush, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500; Tel: 202-456-1414; Fax: 202-456-2461; Email: president@whitehouse.gov

* Congress: All represenatives and senators can be reached through the Congressional switchboard [202] 225 3121.

* The British government: The British Embassy in DC can be reached by phone 202.588.7800, fax: (212) 745 0359 or e-mailed at ppa@washington.mail.fco.gov.uk. The address is The British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20008.