This year, British and Irish people alike are feeling a good deal more somber than they did on Good Friday last year. Then, Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland found common ground for a peace agreement designed to end 30 years of sectarian violence that had claimed more than 3,200 lives. Today, that hard-won peace is foundering, buffeted by the suspicions and fears created by more than a quarter-century of fighting. Last May's historic vote for peace suggested that history need not triumph over hope. A renewed political offensive -- and courage from Northern Irish leaders -- can put the peace process back on track.
The original agreement was artful in its diplomacy. Mindful of the sensitivities attached to critical issues, its language was deliberately vague. 'Fudge' is an apt description for some of the key provisions. For example, the accord called for the devolution of power from Britain to a new Northern Irish Cabinet around the time that Irish Republicans put some arms "beyond use, on a voluntary basis." That timetable is clearly open to interpretation. What is clear is that the agreement does not call for actual decommissioning before May 22, 2000. Still, Protestants have demanded a token gesture by the Catholics. Thus far, that has proven to be beyond the ability of Catholic politicians such as Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to provide.
Republicans assert that the failure to make even that gesture disqualifies the Catholics from taking their seats in the new Cabinet. Mr. Adams counters that his group's electoral strength entitles it to its seats, no matter what. He also concedes that he cannot deliver on the demand to turn over arms, insisting that his party does not speak for the Irish Republican Army. But Mr. Adams also says that he supports the principle of disarmament.