A political watershed was reached in the peace process yesterday when Mr David Trimble led the Ulster Unionist Party, along with the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party, into the talks process at Stormont. No matter that the Ulster Unionists went to "confront" Sinn Fein's representatives and to seek their expulsion from the process on the basis of their linkage with the IRA. The important thing was that various shades of unionist and nationalist political opinion were finally present across the table. Five years of painstaking work by the two sovereign governments was coming to fruition. And there is a chance of a fresh start for Northern Ireland after more than 25 years of bloodshed and bitterness.
It is vitally important that the advances made in recent weeks should not be thrown away through further squabbling and procrastination over procedural matters. The confidence and political courage of the Ulster Unionists are likely to be tested today when the two Governments bring forward a procedural motion designed to move all parties into the substantive phase of negotiations. That could happen next Monday, if all goes well. But Mr Trimble and his followers are still undecided as to their tactics and strategy.
The time-scale set for negotiations is short, given the customary tardiness of the participants. By next May, the parties - aided by the two Governments - are expected to have agreed a three-stranded political settlement covering constitutional and institutional arrangements within these islands. Guidelines for a possible settlement have already been set down in the Downing Street Declaration and in the Joint Framework Document but these have been sharply challenged by unionists, loyalists and republicans. While the parties are to be commended for having reached their present positions, the truth of the matter is that the really difficult work lies ahead. The leaders now have to address issues of compromise and accommodation which generate deep-seated fears within both communities.
A dynamic and full-blooded engagement by the Ulster Unionists in the peace process is essential at this point. Such an initiative would not only challenge Sinn Fein on its democratic commitment, but it would exert particular pressure on the Democratic Unionist Party and the United Kingdom Unionist Party to abandon their boycott in favour of political negotiations. Once progress is seen to be possible, as a consequence of the commitment and determination of the parties of the middle ground, the political landscape in Northern Ireland could change very quickly. After decades of bitterness and bloodshed, a real alternative beckons. And while there are many enemies of political compromise lurking in the wings, there is an abundance of political strength, talent and energy on the side of those who seek a settlement.