Sir, - For Richard Kearney and Simon Partridge (The Irish Times, January 15th) an east-west "Council of the Isles" modelled on the Nordic Council "can provide the key to settling the British-Irish conflict." However, while the Nordic Council has some solid achievements, its relevance for Ireland and Britain is very limited.
It is implied that it solved similar national conflicts in Scandinavia, but they were much milder and were solved long before the Nordic Council even existed. When Norway achieved independence from Sweden at the beginning of this century, there was no significant pro-Swedish minority in Norway, and the relatively amicable separation pre-dated the Nordic Council by some 50 years!
The proposed body would link both parts of Ireland with assemblies in England, Scotland and Wales, but it is far from clear why the English, Scottish or Welsh assemblies would want a "Council of the Isles". When asked recently on TV about the council, the Scottish nationalist leader, Alex Salmond, simply smiled, ignored the question and talked about something else he considered important. His interviewer didn't bother to pursue the matter.
Whereas the Nordic Council links five independent states, a "Council of the Isles" would link the four constituent parts of the UK which already have a common parliament - Westminster. The Irish Republic is already linked to it by the British-Irish inter-parliamentary body and the Anglo-Irish Agreement; and it will be linked to the North via the North-South bodies. In this crowded landscape, a "Council of the Isles" seems more like duplication than a new key to unlock the conflict.
It might make sense in the titfor-tat, copy-cat logic of unionism: nationalists get a north-south link, so unionists must get an east-west one to maintain the "balance". However, this "logic" ignores the fact that they already have an east-west link as part of the UK. It refuses to admit that the status quo is already "unbalanced" in terms of national sovereignty - which is what the conflict is about. Hence the importance of north-south bodies to redress the imbalance. In this context the Nordic model is largely a distraction. - Yours, etc.,
Prof James Anderson,Douglas Hamilton, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.