An important contribution was made to the peace process in Northern Ireland yesterday when the British Government published details of policing legislation that will provide for greater public accountability and, depending on the responses by paramilitary organisations, allow former members to participate in the work of district policing boards.
As might be expected, the initiative attracted conditional approval from the main pro-Agreement parties as they prepared to engage in difficult and intensive negotiations, while the Democratic Unionist Party rejected it as a sell-out to republicans.
In calling for "acts of completion" earlier this month, the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, spoke of the need for "quantum leaps" in order to re-establish trust between the parties and to get the Belfast Agreement back on track. This legislation - and the explanatory texts released by the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy - is a significant development designed, in particular, to end republican paramilitary activity. The choice facing republicans, Mr Murphy writes elsewhere in this newspaper today, is a clear one that would allow them to complete the journey to democracy and add the last piece to the jigsaw of the Agreement.
The proposed amendments to the Northern Ireland Policing Act are expected to take 16 weeks to pass into law. That time-scale fits closely with the ambition of the two Governments to secure a new understanding between the parties and to end the suspension of the Northern Ireland institutions. Last week, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, spoke of completing multi-party negotiations by the end of February. And fresh Assembly elections are due in March. As on past occasions, delicate choreography will be vital if the various parties are to be enabled to claim individual successes within their constituencies and buttress the Agreement. While new policing structures and accountability will be pivotal to these discussions, other issues such as demilitarisation, decommissioning and the stability of the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement will remain central to any final resolution.
The British Government's proposals fall into two categories: those responding to SDLP demands for increased accountability by the Northern Ireland Police Board, the Police Ombudsman and the Chief Constable, which will be implemented irrespective of what happens elsewhere; and those that are dependent on paramilitary organisations ceasing all their activities. The latter development would allow former republican and loyalist paramilitaries take their places on local policing boards once the Northern Secretary was satisfied their organisations had gone out of business.
The next few months will demand courage and commitment from all the pro-Agreement parties. But a good start has been made.