As the dust settles after the resignation of David Trimble, a less secure Northern Ireland begins to emerge. Tensions have been heightened by annual marches and protests. Sectarian attacks on families and nightly disturbances have increased. These present all too many reminders that the bitterness and divisions of our past could yet destroy our future.
It is all the more regrettable, then, that the First Minister has chosen to resign at this time. I recognise the real contribution that David Trimble has made to the political process and the risks that he has taken throughout. But, by resigning, he has precipitated the latest in a long series of crises threatening the inclusivity of the Executive that the Social Democratic and Labour Party has always worked to ensure.
The Ulster Unionists are far from alone in not meeting their commitments under the agreement. The Democratic Unionist Party has accepted ministerial office while rejecting the basic responsibilities that go with it to work collectively with other ministers in the Executive. Crucial issues on policing and demilitarisation must be resolved by the two sovereign governments. Worst of all, three years after the Assembly first met, weapons have not been put beyond use by republicans or loyalists.
The failure to decommission is eating away at cross-community support for the agreement and is undermining the consensus upon which it depends for its survival. There is an onus on all paramilitaries to resolve the weapons issue and give our new society the stability it so desperately needs. That onus falls particularly heavily on the republican movement, as its political wing enjoys ministerial office.
Sinn Fein, for its part, demands that its electoral mandate be recognised by all. I respect it. But if the outcome of the best endeavours by Sinn Fein to put weapons beyond use has borne so little fruit, it is clear that the IRA does not respect that mandate and the obligations that go with it.
Sinn Fein also pleads in its defence that decommissioning is not possible until we have progress on policing, demilitarisation and the inclusive operation of the institutions. This ignores a basic reality. The institutions of government, however unstable, have been established. Demilitarisation has started - though it has yet a long way to go. Work on the creation of a new police service - though still inadequate - has progressed. And yet, despite all this, no weapons have been put beyond use by paramilitaries.
For a year and a half after the agreement, Sinn Fein rightly criticised the Ulster Unionists for holding up devolution until progress was made on decommissioning. Now, Sinn Fein is using the same tactic, making any progress on its obligations conditional upon full delivery in all other areas. This all or nothing approach will not ensure progress. Rather, it will guarantee the complete collapse of the political process. Those who want the full implementation of the agreement cannot shirk their responsibility to act in a way that will secure it.
The methods that unionists have used in pursuit of decommissioning are regrettable and counter-productive. But the call to put weapons beyond use cannot be blithely dismissed as a British or a unionist requirement. The holding by organisations of illegal weapons is contrary to Irish law. It is contrary to the Irish Constitution. It is contrary to the Good Friday agreement.
Above all, it is contrary to the right of the Irish people to determine their own future. By voting for the Good Friday agreement in such overwhelming numbers, they made clear the future they wanted - a peaceful one without illegal arms. The question is a fundamental one: whether the IRA accepts the right of the Irish people to decide that future and to enjoy its benefits.
We now have six weeks in which to resolve the outstanding problems facing the process. What is required now is not forms of words that mean anything to everybody, and ultimately nothing to anybody. Nor can we have the politics of side deals, secret understandings, wish lists and concessions. What is required is clarity from each side on its commitments - and how and when it will deliver upon them. In particular, there is an onus on the IRA to deliver on its statement of May 6th, 2000 in such a way that conclusive negotiations can take place. For their part, it is the clear responsibility of the two governments, not the parties, to devise a strategy to ensure that those commitments are honoured.
And, let us be clear: the price of failure is much too high. We should remember:
that the agreement is the only way to deliver a better future;
that it has already started to do so in terms of enhanced provision for equality and human rights;
that we have developed a political consensus in the inclusive Executive and Assembly which has produced the first home-grown Programme for Government for over 30 years;
that on the island we have better co-operation and joint action through North/South institutions which work for the benefit of the people of Ireland, North and South; and
that we have made progress in terms of promoting investment and jobs and tackling our socioeconomic problems.
This underlines the imperative of finding a comprehensive agreement now. We must replace the politics of delivery on concessions with the politics of delivery on commitments. Delivery on putting arms beyond use. Delivery on the full implementation of the Patten report. Delivery on demilitarisation. And delivery on the proper operation of the institutions.
The SDLP is willing to play its part in bringing about a resolution.
It remains to be seen whether others are willing to play theirs.
Seamus Mallon MP, MLA, former Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, is deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party