Madam, - As we enter the "final devaluation" of the Good Friday Agreement it is important to appreciate why the accord has failed. In doing so we will at least be able to leave an understanding for future generations.
From the Progressive Unionist Party viewpoint it would be pointless to indulge in a finger pointing exercise. Such activity is the preserve of those who live in the world of justification as opposed to explanation. Thus I will leave the "victim" politics to those who do it best.
Political loyalism is as opposed to "criminals who masquerade as loyalists" as everyone else is. They have seriously undermined confidence within the community making the rebuilding process very difficult. In our view they are the minority and use the term "loyalist" only as cover for their criminal activities.
We will never confuse them with those true loyalists who for 30 years gave up so much in the struggle against the PIRA's imperial ambitions. That sacrifice ensured that Ulster's history, culture and identity still exists today.
But criminality is not the cause of the Agreement's failure. From our viewpoint it has failed because those with power do not wish to see an open and accessible democracy established in Northern Ireland. They realise that true social equality could lead to fundamental transformation within and across society. To protect their privilege they have decided that democracy can exist only if the Ulster Unionist Party is going to win.
The transformation I refer to would see the scourge of social sectarianism eradicated from society.
Out would got the elitist Grammar schools, to be replaced by a truly egalitarian education system. Out would go the institutionalised social sectarianism that poisons the majority of government organisations in Northern Ireland.
Out would go the religious sectarianism, which is promoted and practised by those who oppose true equality. And out would go the endless media manipulation, which abuses the poor by portraying them as something to be feared as opposed to respected.
It is little wonder that the powerful elite are willing to use every device at their disposal to ensure nothing can change in Northern Ireland. How else can this minority sustain its privilege?
If the British and Irish Governments were serious about the Good Friday Agreement they would not have cancelled democracy last May. The fact that the governments denied democracy proves that the Agreement was not a genuine attempt at peace building.
Loyalists now believe it was a con job aimed at creating a generational ceasefire while preserving the privileges of those in power.
We now talk about "their agreement", whereas we used to say "our agreement". - Yours, etc.,
DAVID ROSE, Deputy Leader, Progressive Unionist Party, Shankill Road, Belfast.