Here's hoping!

In the days preceding the meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council in Belfast on November 27, the delegates to the meeting were offered contradictory advice . . .

Some people argued strongly for an acceptance of the Mitchell Review of the Good Friday Agreement, while others strongly opposed any departure from the 'no guns, no government' stance that David Trimble had adopted since the breakdown of negotiations last July. Interestingly, many of those who were most prominent in offering the advice were evangelicals. Evangelical Christians in Ulster are as deeply divided as any other section of the population on the issue of devolution and decommissioning.

Two groups of church ministers went to Stormont in the week before the critical meeting of the Unionist Council to lobby local politicians. One group, which was pressing for acceptance of the deal, was met by an Assembly member, himself an evangelical Christian, who said that it was 'immoral' that they should encourage politicians to accept the inclusion in government of Sinn Fein, so long as the IRA refuses to disarm.

They were closely followed by another group that included Presbyterian, Free Presbyterian, Church of Ireland and ministers of other denominations, who prayed on the steps of the Parliament Buildings, and stated that the Mitchell proposals were 'fundamentally immoral and contrary to biblical principles'. Not only was it an act of appeasement to include 'unreconstructed terrorists' in the government of Northern Ireland, but they believed that it was a breach of biblical standards of morality and justice.

To accept the deal on offer meant that the movement that brought us Enniskillen, the Shankhill Bomb, Bloody Friday and numerous other atrocities, would have its place in government without surrendering one weapon, without renunciation of its claimed right to use violence, and with no admission that the murderous work of the IRA was anything other than justified.

Capitulation?

The Northern Ireland Unionist party is one of the smaller parties in the Stormont Assembly with four members. Its deputy leader is Paddy Roche, an evangelical Christian and a Baptist deacon. He reckons that the acceptance of the Mitchell Review by Ulster Unionists will result eventually in the loss of Northern Ireland's constitutional status within the UK. By failing to obtain from the UK government a specific sanction against Sinn Fein in the event of the IRA refusing to decommission its weapons, David Trimble has capitulated to republicanism. The implementation of the Good Friday Agreement secures for Sinn Fein/IRA the ultimate strategic triumph of a central role in governing and policing the community they terrorised while retaining their terrorist organisation entirely intact.

But not all evangelicals follow this anti-Agreement line. Sir Fred Catherwood, whose family roots run deep in Ulster soil, wrote to the Belfast Telegraph (22/11/99) putting the debate in its United Kingdom context and pointing out the possible backlash against the Union from British politicians if the Agreement is not implemented. For 30 years the government has sought to defend the Province and keep the economy going, in the belief that a settlement would eventually be forthcoming. Failure to reach a settlement will result in them backing off from their present commitments, and power may be devolved to local authorities where cross-party agreement already works.

Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland (ECONI) argued that the process proposed by Senator Mitchell, while not without risk, 'is consistent with the biblical imperatives to love our enemy, to make peace and to pursue justice'. They said that recent statements from the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein had addressed the need to make the failure to accept legitimate and different identities a thing of the past. 'Their acknowledgement of the suffering that both traditions and all sections of our community have endured, and the mutual expression of deep regret, are important steps in beginning to heal the deep wounds that scar our relationships.'

Divergent views

ECONI represents a strain of Ulster evangelicalism which believes that Christians must make progress on the difficult journey of helping to put right damaged relationships which have been at the root of the conflict in Northern Ireland. These relationships are not just built on words, but on actions, and for that reason it is imperative that the commitment of both Unionists and Republicans is enacted. Overall, the risk to democracy is reckoned to be less than the risk of forfeiting an opportunity to make peace. The rebuilding of relationships requires that risks be taken.

In gaining the approval of his party to progress with the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and to sharing power with Sinn Fein, David Trimble has taken a big risk. Not only will he be fiercely criticised by Ian Paisley, Robert McCartney and others, but he will not enjoy the support of many within his own party, including several of his fellow Unionist MPs at Westminster. If decommissioning of IRA weapons does not take place by February, Unionists may seek a new leader.

Republican risks

In moving from a simplistic 'Brits out of Ireland' and 'No Stormont rule' policy to actually doing business with their Unionist neighbours, it could be argued that Republican leaders are also taking a risk. They must demonstrate to their hardliners that democratic politics alone is the way forward.

If it is the genuine desire of the Republican movement to move from conflict to 'the politics of accommodation', then many believe that space should be created so that it could be demonstrated that, in Gerry Adams's words, 'the conflict is indeed over, done with, and gone'. In such a situation, the decommissioning of arms and explosives is just another natural but necessary step to a new and bright future for Northern Ireland.

Stafford Carson

© Evangelicals Now - January 2000
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