I am satisfied that Sinn Fein in government will abide by democratic principles, and they should at least be given the opportunity to demonstrate this.
A decisive week lies ahead, the outcome of which could determine the future of Northern Ireland for a long time to come, for better or for worse. The objective of the Irish Government, and I believe all the pro-agreement parties, is to secure peace and strengthen democracy, thus removing the ground from under any pretext for further resort to political violence from any quarter. The best way to achieve these aims is by implementing the Good Friday agreement without further delay, because if we do not, there is a real danger that confidence in a lasting peace settlement may begin to disintegrate.
The agreement offers an advanced system of government, that is very democratic, and that affords legitimacy for any main viewpoint in a politically divided society. These are powerful gains. The inclusiveness of the peace process has been the key to its success. No one is asking democrats to sit in government with "unreconstructed terrorists". Every elected member who takes part in government will be bound by their pledge of office to fundamental democratic principles. Both governments with the help of the parties will see that those are upheld. Participation is a much better guarantee of stability than exclusion.
The decommissioning of paramilitary weapons by May 2000 is part of the bargain set out in the Good Friday agreement. An executive is being formed on the clear understanding that that part of the bargain will be kept. The Irish Government is firmly convinced it will be. On the other hand, we cannot assume that decommissioning will ever take place, let alone by May 2000, if an inclusive government is not established. The timetable has become very tight indeed, and should not be pushed out any further.
Inclusive partnership government will only be sustained if decommissioning happens, and if Gen de Chastelain has received full co-operation by the time he makes his reports. The result of a review and suspension of the institutions, if this does not happen, should not be prejudged.
We should not enter this stage of the process, assuming bad faith and pronouncing any one party guilty in advance. I am satisfied that Sinn Fein in government will abide by democratic principles, and they should at least be given the opportunity to demonstrate this.
North and South have an equal interest in establishing and maintaining the integrity of the democratic system, in which there will be no place for private armies.
Voluntary disarmament will be a unique event in Irish history. We should not dismiss lightly a serious commitment to it, which will require on an ongoing basis much courageous leadership. To turn such an opportunity down would be a mistake of historic proportions.
Rightly or wrongly, the conclusion will be drawn by wide swathes of opinion at home and abroad that decommissioning was being used all along as a plausible excuse for procrastination and exclusion, and that the real difficulty was with the principle of inclusive government agreed on Good Friday and reaffirmed by all parties a fortnight ago. Public opinion in the Republic is today much more fair-minded and less partisan than it might have been in the past. People want to encourage the republican movement as well as the loyalist organisations to adopt a purely political path in pursuit of their objectives.
But equally people in the Republic also want to forge a new and more constructive relationship with Ulster unionism, leaving long-standing constitutional differences to one side for the time being.
THE Irish Government is committed under the agreement to taking further active steps to demonstrate our respect for the different traditions in the island of Ireland, and as a significant measure in this regard, we have embarked upon a major project of refurbishment and restoration of the site of the Battle of the Boyne.
Public opinion will support courageous leadership and political risk-taking for peace, from whatever side it comes. When one side fulfils its obligations, people will expect others to do the same. But equally no one should have to take responsibility for the failures of others.
Political progress requires not only good faith but taking risks for peace on all sides. In a week's time, if the executive is formed, the Anglo-Irish Agreement will be superseded, and Articles 2 and 3 will assume their changed form. This involves taking significant risks on our part.
The people of Northern Ireland deserve to be given a chance of a better future, which they have wanted for so long. Everyone would like, but no one can give, absolute guarantees. The Way Forward nevertheless represents the best assurances available that the basic requirements for a stable democratic system of government will be met. The Irish Government is a co-guarantor of democratic government under the Good Friday agreement, both in the broad representative sense and in underpinning a required adherence to democratic means. The advent of the millennium invites us all to make the new start.
