No more weapons” “” “

The IRA (Irish Republican Army) has announced that it has now begun the process of “decommissioning”, of disarming, after the appeal made to it by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Those who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to promote the dialogue that has brought the terrorists to the negotiating table, convincing them to abandon their weapons, included not least the politicians of the SDLP, the party of moderate Catholics founded by John Hume, the hero of the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, who is due to retire next month. The politicians poised to take up his legacy include Mrs Brid Rodgers , Minister of Agriculture in the government of Northern Ireland, formed by both Protestants and Catholics. We interviewed her. How has the Catholic community reacted to the news of the IRA’s disarmament? “I think that the Catholic community now feels a sense of relief because IRA’s insistence on not wishing to hand over its weapons has caused a crisis in the peace process over the last three years. The Protestants have always said that the Catholics could not be trusted until the IRA had abandoned its weapons. Their agreement to the peace process was only a political tactic to obtain control over Ulster, argued the Protestants. Now that the part of the Good Friday agreement on the handing over of weapons is becoming a reality, there are no longer any excuses for not building peace in the province”. It’s being said that this breakthrough would not have been possible without the terrorist attacks of 11 September. Do you agree? “Yes, I agree. Three Irish terrorists were recently discovered in Colombia, teaching other terrorists how to make bombs. One of them was a member of Sinn Fein, the political party that represents the IRA. The discovery was very embarrassing for Sinn Fein and gave a very bad impression of the IRA to American public opinion, convincing the Americans, even those of Irish origin, that it is dangerous to sponsor a terrorist organization of this type. Gerry Adams grasped the fact that if he had not announced the surrender of weapons, the American political world would have turned its back on Sinn Fein once again and it would have once again been reduced to illegality as in the past”. How will this announcement change the relations between the Catholic and Protestant communities? “The relations between the two communities require time: the longer peace lasts, the more secure people will feel, and the more they will join together rather than divide themselves from each other. Of course, we have a different history, we Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland, but also many things in common. For thirty years we have concentrated on our differences. And these have been exploited by the politicians to increase their power base. The time has now come to focus on the things we have in common: the economy, agriculture, the environment”. How can the risk of fanaticism be combated? “Constant vigilance, constant care, is needed not to succumb to it. Unfortunately, it’s difficult in Northern Ireland, because here we speak the language of the emotions instead of that of reason. This is understandable if you think that your brothers or your closest relations were killed by the bombs of the IRA. No one could react in a rational manner to attacks that touch your very own family. But with a bit of hope, if IRA disarms, then the Protestant terrorists will do likewise. And the weapons, we hope, will really disappear from this land, as we have always dreamt”. Silvia Guzzetti – London