For the Sake of Peace,
Trimble Should Be Unionists' Choice May 20
By Jack Healey
As in any relationship, personal or political, motion shifts from one side to the other to keep basic integrity within that bond. May 20 is the Orangemen's turn in Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army has agreed to the decommissioning of their arms under the direction of General DeChastlain of Canada as authorized by the Good Friday Agreement. This long awaited and hesitant decision marks a historical moment for the minority community of Northern Ireland. The roles played by Prime Ministers Blair and Ahern with backing from President Clinton were patient and sure handed. The visit from Nelson Mandela, the former Prime Minister of South Africa, to Dublin brought a sense of reality of the value of compromise as only Mandela can bring. Change, he said, was inevitable and that meant both sides must change, personally and collectively. Mandela told all who would hear it that "leaders must lead." The IRA heard him and responded with an alternative to "no more guns." The removal of the guns is under an international agreement and thus not an obstacle to the peace moving forward. That was the issue for the majority and it is gone. It is now time for the Unionists on May 20 to support their leader David Trimble and the agenda he brings to them for an endorsement. The question of integrity shifts now to the Unionists.
Unionists, like the IRA, must endorse the basic fact of the governments' role in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects, including Christopher Patton's recommendations on policing in Northern Ireland. In short, like Nelson Mandela told the IA, change is here. The Unionists must adjust to the needs of a real peace. Cultural identity, a basic human right guaranteed by international law, continues through schools, churches, manners and family values. Both sides of this conflict will only lose their identity if they choose to do that themselves. Cultural identity travels with the person, within the shadow of each of us. Examples of major shifts have occurred all over the world; communism disappearing without bloodshed, Southern Africa moving from minority rule to majority rule; changes in law and living brought by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the United States; and the removal of almost all military dictatorships in Latin America.
The Unionists' formerly poor neighbor to the south is now a land of high technology, music and poetry and a member in the Common Market. The Republic of Ireland has agreed to give over a huge track of land to another jurisdiction in the Good Friday Agreement This generosity is singular in history and is an expression of the people of the south that they dearly want peace in the north and want to play a role in making that happen. Prime Ministers Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair have taken political risks to achieve this agreement and have been generous with their time and persons to make it happen. The devotion of these two heads of state continues after the fact of the Good Friday Agreement and will bring added grants, finances and new businesses. A new day is near for all in the North of Ireland if the Unionists vote to support David Trimble's leadership. A vote against Trimble would be a slap to the leaders of Ireland, United Kingdom and United States as well to the substantial number of voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Personal views are important but voting is sacred and the vote is in and it was positive.
Both communities would do well to get copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to order to reset their local and worldview. This document sets forth standards by which both sides could advance into this century and be a model for the world, which is still unsettled in many countries by similar civic problems. All of Ireland would become a haven for new business, tourism and a land of beautiful languages where culture is sacred but not bloody. The world would welcome Ireland and Northern Ireland as models of peace and prosperity where lessons of history can be learned and seen and studied. Its children, then, can honor the heroes of peace as well as the heroes of war.
The people of Northern Ireland voted for the Good Friday Agreement. It is time for the Unionists to honor that agreement by endorsing their leader David Trimble on May 20. Anything else falls short of decency and fairness.�
By Jack Healey
As in any relationship, personal or political, motion shifts from one side to the other to keep basic integrity within that bond. May 20 is the Orangemen's turn in Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army has agreed to the decommissioning of their arms under the direction of General DeChastlain of Canada as authorized by the Good Friday Agreement. This long awaited and hesitant decision marks a historical moment for the minority community of Northern Ireland. The roles played by Prime Ministers Blair and Ahern with backing from President Clinton were patient and sure handed. The visit from Nelson Mandela, the former Prime Minister of South Africa, to Dublin brought a sense of reality of the value of compromise as only Mandela can bring. Change, he said, was inevitable and that meant both sides must change, personally and collectively. Mandela told all who would hear it that "leaders must lead." The IRA heard him and responded with an alternative to "no more guns." The removal of the guns is under an international agreement and thus not an obstacle to the peace moving forward. That was the issue for the majority and it is gone. It is now time for the Unionists on May 20 to support their leader David Trimble and the agenda he brings to them for an endorsement. The question of integrity shifts now to the Unionists.
Unionists, like the IRA, must endorse the basic fact of the governments' role in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects, including Christopher Patton's recommendations on policing in Northern Ireland. In short, like Nelson Mandela told the IA, change is here. The Unionists must adjust to the needs of a real peace. Cultural identity, a basic human right guaranteed by international law, continues through schools, churches, manners and family values. Both sides of this conflict will only lose their identity if they choose to do that themselves. Cultural identity travels with the person, within the shadow of each of us. Examples of major shifts have occurred all over the world; communism disappearing without bloodshed, Southern Africa moving from minority rule to majority rule; changes in law and living brought by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the United States; and the removal of almost all military dictatorships in Latin America.
The Unionists' formerly poor neighbor to the south is now a land of high technology, music and poetry and a member in the Common Market. The Republic of Ireland has agreed to give over a huge track of land to another jurisdiction in the Good Friday Agreement This generosity is singular in history and is an expression of the people of the south that they dearly want peace in the north and want to play a role in making that happen. Prime Ministers Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair have taken political risks to achieve this agreement and have been generous with their time and persons to make it happen. The devotion of these two heads of state continues after the fact of the Good Friday Agreement and will bring added grants, finances and new businesses. A new day is near for all in the North of Ireland if the Unionists vote to support David Trimble's leadership. A vote against Trimble would be a slap to the leaders of Ireland, United Kingdom and United States as well to the substantial number of voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Personal views are important but voting is sacred and the vote is in and it was positive.
Both communities would do well to get copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to order to reset their local and worldview. This document sets forth standards by which both sides could advance into this century and be a model for the world, which is still unsettled in many countries by similar civic problems. All of Ireland would become a haven for new business, tourism and a land of beautiful languages where culture is sacred but not bloody. The world would welcome Ireland and Northern Ireland as models of peace and prosperity where lessons of history can be learned and seen and studied. Its children, then, can honor the heroes of peace as well as the heroes of war.
The people of Northern Ireland voted for the Good Friday Agreement. It is time for the Unionists to honor that agreement by endorsing their leader David Trimble on May 20. Anything else falls short of decency and fairness.�
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