Speaking in the Dáil on September 28th, the Taoiseach said the Provisionals, in decommissioning, had yielded to the will of the people, as expressed in the Belfast Agreement. There is, however, a lot more to do if the will of the people is to be fully respected, writes Seán Donlon
The Provisionals were facilitated into democratic politics through the Hume-Adams dialogue in the early 1990s. Central to that dialogue was the proposition that any outcome would be ratified by an all-Ireland mandate and that the Provisionals would accept it.
John Hume had long asserted that a new all-Ireland mandate was needed to replace the 1918 general election results, on which the Provisionals had for so long rested their case.
In May 1998, the overwhelming majority of the people of the island of Ireland voted for the Belfast Agreement. The Provisionals campaigned for it.
In this jurisdiction, the referendum amended the 1937 Constitution in some important respects. There can now be no doubt as to the will of the people in three important areas:
One: The right to raise and maintain military or armed forces is, by Article 15.6, vested exclusively in the Oireachtas;
Two: In consequence of Article 29.7.1, the right of the people of Northern Ireland to choose its status is recognised;
Three: Article 3.1 declares that a united Ireland can only be brought about with the consent of the people, democratically expressed in both jurisdictions.
It follows from this that:
One: the IRA must be disbanded. Decommissioning is welcome but it is only a first step.
In a recent, under-reported speech, John Hume emphasised that he wanted to see the IRA and all other paramilitary bodies completely gone.
Two: At this point, a majority in Northern Ireland choose that it remain in the UK. If the Provisionals are, as their July 28th statement says, committed to political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means, they should have to accept this reality. They have, of course, the right to work to change it. Meanwhile, they might demonstrate their commitment to democracy by, for example, taking their seats at Westminster.
Three: Consent means voluntary agreement. It is the will of the Irish people that if there is to be any change in the status of Northern Ireland, it will require the voluntary agreement of a majority in Northern Ireland. Today that majority is unionist and loyalist.
No amount of sterile rhetoric or rallying at the GPO will win their consent.
It will be won through political and democratic programmes, primarily in Northern Ireland.
The Provisionals have taken great risks in decommissioning. They should now contemplate more risks for a lasting peace on the island of Ireland.
Seán Donlon is a former secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs