| Singing From the Same Hymn Sheet
Comment
The meeting in London on Monday between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime
Minister Tony Blair seems to have been brief, businesslike and very much
to the point. The two leaders are now well used to each other’s ways and,
especially when the talks involve the North of Ireland, there is little
need for huge explanations from either side to expand upon their point of
view.
But, attempting to read between the lines of the communiqué issued by
the two men at the end of their meeting, it does appear that Mr Ahern and
Mr Blair are very much in agreement. The agreement that matters when it
comes to deciding upon the best way forward in returning powers to the Stormont
Assembly.
During their joint years in power as leaders of their respective nations,
both Mr Ahern and Mr Blair have encountered more than a few setbacks and
stumbling blocks in the matter of peace and progress in the North of Ireland.
The two men have always put on a brave and resolute face even when the
going got tough.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair have been waiting along with the rest of us for
some three months now for an anticipated statement from the IRA high command
in which the organisations might give a commitment to operating solely by
democratic and peaceful methods.
As the annual ritual of the marching season gets under way in the North,
these are testing days for the two leaders and for the relationship between
the governments in Dublin and London.
However, there appears to be no apparent strain between the two men at
this time, judging by the words contained in their joint communiqué at least.
Both Mr Ahern and Mr Blair spoke as one and were able to deliver the
same message to Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, his party and the IRA.
The time for equivocation is over, the two leaders said. We await the IRA
statement proclaiming a complete end to the campaign of violence.
The sense of unanimity between Mr Ahern and Mr Blair is palpable. They
may have had their differences in Europe over the matter of Britain’s budget
rebate, but there is very little that others can do to create a wedge between
the two men in the matter of progress in the North.
The IRA should deliver its answer without further delay. Peace is at
stake here. The time for further deals and concessions has gone.
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