Madam, - David Trimble has proposed that the suspension of Stormont be lifted so that the recommendation of the IMC - "the implementation of the full range of measures listed in paragraph 12 including exclusion from office" - could be meaningfully implemented against Sinn Féin.
With Stormont otherwise gridlocked, this provides a lawful route to the return of democratic representative government to Northern Ireland, that does not penalise the innocent.
In the longer term it promises to bring about the complete fulfilment of the Good Friday Agreement.
Direct rule is showing its ugly face - disregard for local sensitivities and a determination to achieve outcomes by dictat, however uncomfortable. It is essential to put local rule back into the hands of those answerable to the electorate on whose behalf they govern - the sooner the better.
Some would applaud the exclusion of Sinn Féin from executive power; I am not one of them. For one of the main objectives of lifting suspension and forming a new executive without Sinn Féin must be to create a strong environment for change within republicanism.
Modern Sinn Féin was set up as a workers' party structured along Marxist-Leninist lines, a revolutionary party that set out to win power throughout this island, and entrench its position through repressive measures. Sinn Féin has travelled some distance from its Marxist origins and is seeking to develop its democratic credentials, but it is increasingly hamstrung by its continued subservience to the Provisional IRA.
We learn the following from IMC reports: Sinn Féin's leaders are highly influential in the leadership of the republican movement, but the IRA retains overall control. The IRA is increasingly involved in criminal activities, and members of the Sinn Féin leadership are party to major decisions.
With the Northern Bank robbery, the murder of Robert McCartney, and the unravelling of money-laundering activities, a vivid picture of criminality, thuggery and high-level corruption within the PIRA is emerging. Is this what Sinn Féin supporters with a social conscience voted for? Is this what idealistic republican volunteers joined PIRA for? In most cases I believe not.
Section 23 of the IMC report states: "The leadership and rank and file of Sinn Féin need to make the choice between continued association with and support for PIRA criminality and the path of an exclusively democratic political party". Implementing David Trimble's proposal to lift the suspension of the Assembly now, before elections, will give Sinn Féin and its supporters a clear challenge. Reform republicanism from the sorry state of thuggery and criminality into which it has degenerated and transform Sinn Féin into a self-ruling, democratic and progressive institution.
By so doing Sinn Féin would obtain a report from the IMC recommending that sanctions be lifted, enabling it to enter executive government as an equal partner in accordance with its electoral mandate. - Yours, etc.,
JAMES McKERROW (Ulster Unionist), Bangor, Co Down.
Madam, - The events of the past few weeks have made it plain that talks between the two governments and Sinn Féin can never be the same again. The vast web of criminality being uncovered shows the extent to which the Provisional movement has betrayed the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and the trust of the two governments in all the talks since then. Sinn Féin cannot claim to be a democratic party while some members continue to have links with criminal activities and are seen to have such links.
The practice of turning a blind eye to criminal acts, countenanced for so long by the governments, has clearly had a corrosive and corrupting effect on our democracy. It is past time to end it. The police forces north and south should maintain and increase the pressure on the IRA until that organisation goes out of business.
Nationalists, particularly in the North, are fortunate that the SDLP continues to offer a democratic choice. The SDLP was shamefully neglected by both governments at several junctures in recent years but particularly in the run-up to the Assembly elections in November 2003. This led directly to the eclipse of the SDLP in that election. The governments now owe it to the SDLP to restore that balance. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID WALSH, Rockfield, Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Madam, - Once again Fintan O'Toole has brought clarity to the current developments (Opinion, February 22nd).
He is right to say the Irish people have had their moral compass distorted in the past. But thanks to commentators such as himself and the inimitable Kevin Myers, the flame of truth was kept alive.
It is in this context that as a citizen of this state I believe much congratulations and support should go to the steadfast Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell. When others found it politically expedient to turn a blind eye, Mr McDowell did not. While others enjoyed the company of fashionable Shinners, McDowell did not. And most of all he exposed the Provisional movement as the cowardly, murderous rump it is. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN KENNY, Moran's Cottages, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Madam, - "No man has a right to say to his country, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther' and we have never attempted to fix the ne plus ultra to the progress of Ireland's nationhood, and we never shall." In the Belfast Agreement, the people of Ireland charted a new way to progress and peace for the nation. This realised the promise of Parnell's words spoken in Cork just over 120 years ago.
Now, will the IRA please move aside? - Yours, etc.,
PÓL Ó CEALLACHÁIN, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Madam, - In the light of recent Garda operations, I believe it is time for The Irish Times and the Irish media in general to stop acquiescing to Sinn Féin/IRA's hijacking of the term "republicanism".
My idea of an Irish republican is somebody who seeks to embrace green, orange and dissenter alike. Anyone who holds noble aspirations for their country will seek to fulfil those aspirations through actions of which they can be proud. When their struggle has run its course they should be able to look back on their conduct with their heads held high.
Sinn Féin/IRA will never have this luxury. Its members have taken in bank robberies, extortion, smuggling, drug-dealing and punishment beatings. As one ex-IRA man recently commented, "Sinn Féin lie like the rest of us breathe. They have to to survive." Not alone are the actions of Sinn Féin contrary to republican ideals, they are fervently anti-republican and a denigration of the very notion of Irishness. - Yours, etc.,
EAMONN DELANEY Jnr, Sutton, Dublin 13.
Madam, - Two things are now obvious to me.
Firstly, the people in nationalist areas in the North do not need to be protected by the IRA; they need to be protected from the IRA.
Secondly, Sinn Féin is so fond of the peace process, and has done so well out of it that it is never likely to trade it in for actual peace. - Yours, etc.,
PETER KELLY, Oulart, Co Wexford.
Madam, - Have I got it right?
1. Bertie Ahern believes the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Hugh Orde when he tells them that the Provisional IRA robbed the National Irish Bank in Belfast.
2. Bertie Ahern does not believe his own Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, when he tells him that Mr Adams, Mr McGuinness and Mr Ferris are members of the IRA. - Yours, etc.,
COLM ALLMAN, St Joseph's College, Garbally Park, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Madam, - "Money laundering inquiry may take months" (headline in The Irish Times, February 18th).
Well, I suppose it will all come out in the wash. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL DELANEY, Beacon Hill, Dalkey, Co Dublin.