George Mitchell warns of ‘immense tragedy’ if Stormont politics fails

It would be an "immense tragedy" if the political process were to fail 20 years after the Belfast Agreement, former US Senator George Mitchell warned at a peace conference in Belfast on Thursday.

As the DUP and Sinn Féin remain deadlocked on issues such as the Irish language, Senator Mitchell called on political leaders in Northern Ireland to demonstrate courage and resolve to end the political logjam in order to restore the Stormont powersharing administration.

Senator Mitchell, who chaired the peace negotiations that led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998, said the onus was on politicians to take risks and act boldly, which he knew they disliked doing. "There is now in Northern Ireland once again a stalemate and once again strong courage and political leadership are necessary," he said at the global conflict conference at Queen's University, Belfast.

“Leaders must lead,” he said. “They must create an attitude of potential success, they must create the attitude that problems can be solved, that things can be better,” he added.

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"I urge the current political leaders in Northern Ireland and the governments in the United Kingdom and Ireland to summon the courage and vision that their predecessors demonstrated in 1998," he said. "It would be an immense tragedy for the process to fail now after 20 years. The political leaders and people of Northern Ireland have come too far to allow peace slip away."

“Courage and commitment are required to get over this latest hurdle. It can be done and I sincerely believe it will be done,” he added.

“There is no such thing as a conflict that cannot be ended. Conflicts are created and sustained by human beings and they can be ended by human beings.” He added: “No matter how hate-filled, peace can prevail. No matter how bleak the outlook, the search for peace must go on.”

Separately, Senator Mitchell told The Irish Times that the issues dividing the DUP and Sinn Féin now did not compare with what the parties had to overcome ahead of the agreement on Good Friday 1998. "My opinion is if you look at the issues that are now separating the two sides and contrast them with the much larger number of issues that were confronted in 1998 it seems to me that they could with leadership get past this and move forward," he said.

Senator Mitchell also warned that peace must not be taken for granted. He stressed the “importance of political leadership in any society, and particularly in societies that have a history of violent conflict, to try hard to deal with the conditions that lead to and exacerbate violence in society”.

"I don't think peace and prosperity and reconciliation are guaranteed in any society," he told The Irish Times.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, also speaking at the conference, agreed with Senator Mitchell that problems causing the political deadlock were "not as big as the ones in the past".

Mr Ahern, during a panel discussion on how peace was established in Northern Ireland, said it was “beyond” him how politicians couldn’t resolve their differences and get back into government so that they could exercise power. He asked had they stood for election on the basis that they would get their money and expenses but not engage in proper politics.

Mr Ahern hoped that the politicians would enjoy their summer break. To loud applause he added, “When they come back from their holidays I hope they get on with it and give us all a break.”

Also on the panel was former Ulster Unionist First Minister Lord (David) Trimble. They differed on Brexit, with Lord Trimble supporting the UK quitting the European Union but he and Mr Ahern agreed when separately speaking to The Irish Times that Brexit should not be used to undermine the Belfast Agreement.

Lord Trimble said had Sinn Féin not walked out of the Northern Executive in January last year they could be part of the political mechanisms to resolve the Brexit difficulties. And, while he understood the pressures on British prime minister Theresa May, he believed she and the British government should become more directly engaged in trying to bring the Northern parties to agreement.

“I know they have a lot on their plate at the minute and I don’t want to add to it but I do think that the government should be coming back with a plan [to reinstate Stormont],” said Lord Trimble.