of the pen, was able to wipe out all the instirutions of a supposedly independent local democracy. A whole series of agreements and institutions supposed to be jointly controlled by the Irish government and enshrined in international law were wiped out in the same 88888888 Mandelson was able to decide which clements of the Good Friday agreement would suspended, and which. like prisoner release and changes to the RUC would conresnonded to criticism by pleading necessity - of which they alone were The political process in Ireland is a settlement imposed by Britain where the British retain all the rights due to an imperialist power. To understand the process we need to ask what are the goals of British strategy. The British needed to prevent the looming resignation of unionist first minister David Trimble. This resignation was in fact a preplanned suicide note in the form of a letter given to the unionist party, to ensure that dis. armament by the IKA, not a component ol the Good Friday agreement, would become a condition for unionists to participate.
Britain needs remains the leading force in a society still dominated by sectarianism. This provides a base for British military occupation, which in turn guarantees capitalist stability on the island of Ireland. Really, no other explanation can be advanced to explain 30 years of war, billions in expenditure and the energy and determination expended on the present agreement.
The British do not want simply to recreate the old Stormont regime that collapsed so completely: They needed to keep the support of the coverinci and the local Catholic middle class by sharing out some sectarian privilere.
This provoked a split among unionists.
the British plans, pocket immense gains made by reaction, and tight tooth and nail within the new structures to nullity any restriction of their sectarian pris ilege. Others argue that the risk is too great and that the North can only continue as a sectarian socicty 11 unionism nas unrestricico privilege.
B ritish support has given Trimble greatly increasca authority immediately pushed for further that any new agreement will have to be brought back to the unionist council, where it will be linked with attempts to veto changes in the name and uniform of the RUC The British, by excluding the RUC from the suspension, hope to maintain enough of an appearance of change to retain nationalist support, while enabling Trimble to argue that preventing the changes is beyond his powers and that unionists cannot afford to refuse the further concessions to reaction that he hopes to gain Nowhere in this debate is there any concepfion of a non sectarian or democratised North. What we are seeing is therefore not some minor hiccup, but a sharp shift to the right, as required by the British strategy. It is time to turn off the organ music and remind everyone that a coalition government including Sinn Fein and the unionists is simply not stable. Either Sinn Fein has to go or they the unionists no longer object to their presCHEC Irish capitalists know this too. Their role is to plead with the British, to assure them that they also represent a secure and stable base for British rule, to pressure Sinn Fein for turther concessions and final surrender while at that they stay inside the tent as loyal footsoldiers for Irish capitalism.
The thought that Sinn Fein hesitation was threatening the deal brought a series of vicious attacks down on their heads. Seamus i deputy leader in the Stormont assembly, accused the republicans of playing ducks and drakes with the two governments, the rest of the political parties on the island of Ireland and all those who voted for the Gra Nationalist pressure was suc cessful. Despite claims of igno. rance by Mandelson, it's quite clear that the IRA took a further sten to the right and nut a new offer on the table, which was immedi ately rejected by the British.
The triumph of reaction is not the whole There has been growing unease and diviA rundown of the British military forces in south Armagh did not take place. They could snot endorse the Patten report on the RUC or find within it any real reform. The equality agenda for desectarianising local institutions has been slow to appear. Capitulation on the question of Orange marches is expected to continuc.
The operation of the local assembly was too obviously republican ministers administerPolitical decisions were solemnly announced policies already decided by Britain. that had been in preparation by British civil servants for months before the assembly was established. Not only were they bogus, were also decisions to the right of Sinn Fein policy.
So Martin McGuinness declared his oppo. sition to educational selection while heading a department operating such a policy. Health minister Bairbre De Bruin announced the closure of a local maternity unit based on a reorganisation involving the Private Finance Initiative. The all-Ireland bodies So COUSY DORCE less that even Sinn Fein no longer mention them as stepping stones to a united Ireland, instead focussing on tacH OWIE of major electoral success on both sides Because republicanism is essentially a militarist ide ology, militants 30CUSS00 guns. As long this poses serious difficulties for the republican leadership. A few hours before the suspension, republi can leaders already showed signs that they might be prepared to retreat to the rightfrantic efforts were made to produce a second de Chastelain report indicating that they would agree to a timetable for the surrender of weapons as part of the implementation process, although not on the receiving end of an ultimatum from the unionists.
Following the suspension of the executive. the IRA withdrew all previous offers and withdrew from the decommissioning body. Yet Gerry Adams maintains that 'Our objcctive is - and the obiective of the two governments should be - the putting back in place of the institutions as soon as possible.
The republicans pressure than ever, with no alternative to the Good Friday process and with no realistic hope of resuming an armed campaign whose failure has always been the best justification for the peace process. When asked if there was a plan B, one leading republican replied that plan B was to make plan A work. W hen negotiations were the republicans still focused their attention "unionist blackmail". With its breakdown. they have begun to speak more sharply of the overall British responsibility and to propose street protest. If that political message was to be amplified then a new political strategy might at last If British strategy is not peace and withdrawal, then what is it? And how did the cpublican leadership get it so badly wrong To break from their current strategy the republicans would have to break from their