OPINION:The only way to defeat the dissidents is to pull together and make the process work for all, writes DAVID ADAMS
IF WE didn’t realise before just how lacking in political sophistication the Real IRA is, we should now.
Prior to that group’s murderous attack at Massereene barracks, Antrim, last Saturday night, an unholy row was brewing in Northern Ireland that could have eventually threatened the political institutions.
It was sparked by Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde’s decision to deploy a specialist British army intelligence unit to help police counter the threat posed by dissident republicans.
On one side were the SDLP and Sinn Féin, and on the other was Orde, supported by the unionists. By the beginning of last weekend, matters had escalated to the point where Gerry Adams was calling into question Orde’s judgment and his motives, and going so far as to warn against taking for granted support for policing within the nationalist and republican communities.
After the attack in Antrim, everything changed. The row over intelligence gathering all but evaporated, and the political institutions appeared as strong as ever – the very opposite of what the dissidents had hoped to achieve. The Real IRA had proved Orde correct in his assessment, and most of the politicians had quickly realised the necessity of forming a united front against the terrorist threat. It is essential that this unity be maintained. If it isn’t, the politicians will be doing the dissidents’ work for them.
First Minister Peter Robinson set the tone perfectly with his remarks after the murders at Antrim; unfortunately, some (though by no means all) of his senior DUP colleagues could not match his ability to rise above party politics and old animosities.
They allowed no opportunity to pass without indulging in petty point-scoring against Sinn Féin. As late as Monday night, before news of the murder of a police officer in Craigavon had filtered through, they were still at it.
Boasting on television how the DUP had “dragged Sinn Féin into supporting policing”, they complained about the length of time it had taken for Adams to react to the murders of the soldiers at Antrim, and about the tone of his statement when it did come. Nor could they resist making sneering, I-told-you-so references to last week’s row over intelligence gathering, or keep from reminding everyone, in case we had forgotten, that the actions of dissident republicans differ little from those of the Provisional IRA.
One was left wondering if more than the Real IRA is lacking in political sophistication. What on earth can these politicians hope to achieve by embarrassing and undermining Sinn Féin at this time? Have they not considered what effect this may have on the republican and nationalist electorates, who are behind policing and totally opposed to the dissidents? Who can they possibly think this benefits? Certainly not those trying to protect the political institutions.
Do they not realise that the dissidents, who presumably are sophisticated enough to recognise political bickering, can only be delighted and encouraged by such a show of disunity between the two main political parties.
It isn’t even as though Sinn Féin hasn’t moved from Adams’s initial condemnation of the Antrim murders. After that first statement, republican politicians have gone on to not only condemn the perpetrators without equivocation, but have also been offering heartfelt condolences to the families and colleagues of those who had been killed.
What more can anyone reasonably ask for? The Real IRA and other like-minded malcontents cannot wreck the political institutions and drag us back to “the dark days of the past”. The fate of the peace process will be determined not by them, but by our reaction to their activities.
In times like these, with democracy under direct attack, no one can afford the luxury of being choosy about democratic allies. I am hardly a cheerleader for Sinn Féin, but they are in the same boat, and pulling in the same direction as the rest of us. We will all sink or swim together; this is no time for squabbles.
It is vitally important that the two governments stick firmly to a joint position as well, particularly on matters of security. There should not be any differences between them, or it will give heart to the dissidents, and have a debilitating effect on the political structures in the North, where the parties will instinctively support one side or the other.
It would send out a very strong signal of unity of purpose, if, for example, the Irish Government were to be officially represented at the funerals of the murdered soldiers and policeman. Confidence can be bolstered on all sides, right across the island, by the PSNI and the Garda not only working closely together, but by being seen to be working closely together.
Dissident groups are attempting to overturn by violent means the freely expressed wishes of the overwhelming majority of the people of both jurisdictions in Ireland, so the onus falls upon the democrats of Ireland and Britain to set their differences aside and present a united front against them.
If we do not, we run the risk of defeating ourselves.