Madam, - Given the position adopted by the British and Irish governments, can anyone now seriously doubt that the pace of the peace process is being dictated by anything other than the sensibilities of the Ulster Unionist Party, a party only nominally pro-Agreement?
Tony Blair's attempts to bolster David Trimble might have been more explicable if the latter were an ardent supporter of the Agreement, but the reality is that Mr Trimble has never championed the Agreement or attempted to sell it to the unionist community. Any form of wording from republicans, short of a regurgitation of a statement written by Trimble himself, would therefore not have sufficed.
The political process has now been forced into a stalemate on a point of semantics regarding IRA intentions. This is highly ironic considering the recent publication of the Stevens report which detailed collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and security forces in the North. And, indeed, on the actual day that Tony Blair rejected the final statement of clarification from republicans on IRA intentions, the UDA claimed responsibility for a gun attack in England.
This "activity" barely made headlines and, naturally, was not seized upon by Mr Blair or Mr Trimble in their focus on "activities"; nor, interestingly, did the Irish government refer to it.
Five years ago Tony Blair said he felt the hand of history upon his shoulder. In recent weeks it has been the hand of Trimble. And by backing the Ulster Unionist leader the two governments have shown as much poor leadership as Mr Trimble himself.
Endorsing his position was an act of desperation, ultimately illustrated by Mr Blair's own arbitrary decision to postpone the Assembly elections. - Yours, etc.,
LAURENCE MARLEY,
Claregalway,
Co Galway.