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07 March 2005

One of the clichés of the last ten years in Northern Ireland is that the peace process is stronger and deeper than the political process. At the very least, this has to mean that the failure of politics to produce agreement on a shared constitution does not mean that there is an appetite for violence and killing, bombing and shooting as a way to resolve disputes. Even without political agreement on a way forward, there is nearly unanimous agreement that we must not go back. Despite years of polarisation and segregation, the bottom line is that there really is no alternative to sharing the future together.

A Shared Future: still the only show in town

Duncan Morrow (Chief Executive, Community Relations Council)

One of the clichés of the last ten years in Northern Ireland is that the peace process is stronger and deeper than the political process.  At the very least, this has to mean that the failure of politics to produce agreement on a shared constitution does not mean that there is an appetite for violence and killing, bombing and shooting as a way to resolve disputes.  Even without political agreement on a way forward, there is nearly unanimous agreement that we must not go back.  Despite years of polarisation and segregation, the bottom line is that there really is no alternative to sharing the future together. 

It had better be right.  Because all real development in Northern Ireland depends on recognition of our interdependence with one another and on the rule of law which guarantees fair treatment and human rights for all.  Each day brings new examples:  After years of waiting, plans for a new waste water system for Belfast were finally announced.  What exactly would a segregated sewerage and waste water system look like?  Days later, developers invited us all to invest in the tallest building in Northern Ireland, to be a new landmark for Laganside.  If we return to bombs and bullets, very few are going to risk working or living on the thirtieth floor.  At the end of the same week, plans for a new shared Sports Stadium were the centrepiece of the announcement about the former Maze Prison site.  It may not be cheap, but it's a darn sight cheaper than building three separate state of the art facilities for three ghettoised sports. 

The dream of a happily segregated society, in which we all keep strictly to our Protestant or Catholic selves alone, is actually a nightmare.  Paramilitaries really cannot go away you know, if every community secretly wants to keep itself in a state of readiness against the next attack from the enemy.  Investment cannot be attracted from abroad, if the necessary workers cannot get to work without fear.   Powers cannot be given back to local government without real trust that they will not be used to reinforce the privileges of the majority and alienate the minority.  Just how do you run a train service that only goes through Catholic areas?  Policing cannot be delivered community by community, unless you want 57 varieties in North Belfast alone, and different badges and uniforms on every street corner.  Tourism just will not take off if our town centres are not welcoming, safe and open for all.  The list is endless.

In the absence of political agreement, there will always be difficulties and doubts.  The greatest single contribution to the long run quality of life in Northern Ireland is an end to fear and an end to threat and intimidation.  But a shared future is not only the result of agreement by politicians.  It is equally true that there can be no devolution unless we are first agreed to work together for the benefit of all.   A commitment to our shared future together is both the precondition for an agreement that might last and the only goal that makes it worth it.  

In the absence of a political settlement, our belonging together depends on the actions of organisations, groups and individuals taking real steps beyond violence and antagonism.   That is why the Community Relations Council has been pleased to support the 'One Small Step' campaign, with its emphasis on the importance of everyone making a contribution to growing trust.  While many are pessimistic about political agreement in the short run, this year's biggest-ever Community Relations Week programme demonstrates that the issue of living, working and playing together is being addressed in very practical ways by ever more people, groups and organisations.  Maybe that is what they really mean when they say that the commitment to peace is deeper than our difficulties in politics