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FROM
THE DIRECTOR
As always in Northern Ireland the recent elections revolved around one
issue - constitutional politics and the direction of the peace process.
There was never any doubt that the results would be significant for the
future of the Belfast Agreement. The arguments now continue as to precisely
what the results should mean for how political life progresses in the
coming months.
Personally I think the
elections were a good result. At Westminster we now have a fairer representation
of the reality that we all knew existed on the ground. Combined with the
local election results the political landscape is more accurately reflected
in the 21% to 26 % share of the vote allocated across the four major parties.
This is a picture of us as we really are.
But not quite! Around
30% of us didn’t bother to vote - up to twice as many as voted for any one
of the main parties with their 15% to 18% share of those entitled to vote.
This is a disturbing trend in democracies. More so in a society where the
division of political spoils can have serious impact on the stability that
benefits voters and non-voters alike.
In political terms the
reality is that there are four clearly established parties and none of them
has an immediate prospect of securing sufficient support to dictate the
terms of progress. They need each other to secure even a part of what they
want. Many, including some politicians, have recognised this for a long
time. It’s a scenario that means no one can be excluded if stability is
to be secured. But if dialogue is to take place across this spectrum of
our community then two obstacles have to be addressed.
Decommissioning must
stop being used as an extension of the armed struggle - the threat and possession
of arms, rather than their use, to gain political advantage. This may not
be the stated aim of the republican movement but it is increasingly the
felt experience of those who observe the constant failure to act on promises
given. Such benign use of the culture of violence is as morally bankrupt
as the campaigns of the 1970s to 1990s. It has no place in a society where
freely given consent is the principle of democratic change. It has no place
in a political strategy that professes to want to reach out to Protestants
and Unionists to make peace, never mind convincing sufficient numbers that
they may want to share in a political process that would unite Ireland!
The war needs to be
seen to be over - political violence, in all its guises, a thing of the
past. This remains a reasonable expectation of those who supported the Belfast
Agreement, with all its flaws, as a way to work for a better future for
all. To share equal rights in government means an equal responsibility for
the moral framework of the society that is being governed. And that means
that the violence that disfigures all our communities must be vigorously
opposed.
Sectarianism must be
challenged as a basis for political organisation - the claim that God is
on my side and the implication that true Christians consequently share my
political aspirations. All Christians rejoice that there is a God in heaven
- but this is a God whose sovereign rule extends to election results in
West Tyrone, South Antrim and North Down as much as in East Londonderry.
The use of Old Testament
religious language and imagery to claim territory or divine vindication
of any human political philosophy, people or culture cannot be sustained
from biblical teaching. Of course God desires righteousness among the nations,
but God’s chosen is Christ and God’s people the church. God’s overwhelming
passion is the embrace into his kingdom of grace of people from every nation,
tribe, territory and political conviction.
Religious nationalism
has no place in the legitimate engagement between faith and politics. It
has no place in a political strategy that professes to make Northern Ireland
a place where Catholics and Nationalists can feel at home, the only path
to the stability within the UK that its loudest proponents aspire to. And
it certainly has no place in the life of any church that desires to bring
the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ to all.
There are real and legitimate
concerns with the Agreement and its outworking. But in the complex moral
maze of generations of communal hatred and violence no one is truly vindicated
- clear of blame or suspicion.
Political violence and
sectarianism may be our legacy from the past. But it is our choice as to
whether they remain the burden of our future.
David
Porter
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