Word: irelands
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...peace process in Northern Ireland rests precariously in the balance. On Oct. 29 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced that it had put a number of its weapons verifiably “beyond use.” This unprecedented move was a great step forward in what had been a faltering peace process, allowing David Trimble and his moderate Ulster Unionist Party to return to the region’s power-sharing assembly. Recently, however, the momentum has been stalled, as hard-line unionists prevented Trimble’s reelection and are attempting to block progress towards a lasting peace...
...accords had caused Trimble to resign in July. Trimble’s return now, coupled with the new constructive tone of the Nationalist forces, bodes well for a lasting peace process. At a time when extremism and terrorism are posing new dangers to the world, the progress in Northern Ireland provides welcome relief. Now the various parties must together seize the opportunity for peace and move beyond blind violence and sectarian division...
...history, its enemies were repeating it. Hours after De Chastelain?s report was released, Protestant paramilitaries continued their attacks on Catholic homes. The weapons of choice, pipe bombs built from parts in any hardware shop, are too easy to make for them ever to be effectively decommissioned. For Northern Ireland, it was a sober reminder that taking away arms may not remove the will to kill...
Still, unionists want more arms disposed of, in order to prove that republicans will no longer use "the Armalite [rifle] and the ballot box" - war alongside politics - to pursue a united Ireland. Danny Morrison, the former Sinn Fein official who coined that phrase, believes that?s what the I.R.A. has just demonstrated. He accuses unionists of pushing too hard. "It was a courageous decision," he said, "but it?s also a huge gamble...
...Continuity I.R.A., said it was "the ultimate act of betrayal." Adams conceded that some of his supporters were in tears. For them, the decommissioning of I.R.A. weapons came as a bitter pill in the often painful business of making peace. But there was no question that it pushed Northern Ireland that much closer to a cure...