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Irish Echo editorial: After the same goal

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The governments must not allow themselves to be distracted from the goal they have set themselves, which is to identify areas of agreement that can lead to the full implementation of the agreement. And, at times like this — and there have been too many of them — it is important to remember a most important underlying fact, one that makes the current process viable in spite of everything. The fact is that even the Democratic Unionist Party, the most diehard of the unionist factions, is in fundamental agreement with Sinn Fein about the crucial importance of ending violence and taking the gun out of Irish politics one and for all. Shortly before the most recent incident, in which alleged members of the IRA kidnapped a dissident republican, the DUP had said that an end to paramilitary activities was the precondition for engagement with republicans. Sinn Fein has repeatedly said that its aim is to bring that about.
That is, both the DUP and Sinn Fein have acknowledged the vital importance of ending violence. Both parties have the same objective. The question is, how can it be synchronized?
No one must ignore the vital importance of establishing the truth about what happened last Friday, the day of the incident that has thrown the peace process into its latest crisis. Nor should it be forgotten the danger that paramilitary activity represents to the building of trust between the two communities. But equally important, we should remember that what was unthinkable a few years ago: a concordance between Sinn Fein and the DUP about the need to end violence is already in place. That is the compass we must use to guide us through this stormy spell and bring about the goal that all right-thinking people seek: the full implementation of the agreement. Compared to that, what is going on at the point is essentially shadow boxing.

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