In commemoration of the 35^th anniversary of the Battle of the Bogside, and the upcoming 10^th anniversary of the IRA ceasefire, I would like to add my thoughts to the growing commentary from both sides of the sectarian divide on the state of the current peace process:

The IRA's unilateral ceasefire in August 1994 signaled a decisive move away from previous fundamentalist demands. This point cannot be overemphasized, as the existence of the conflict from the beginning was largely a result of clashing fundamentalist beliefs on national self determination. A willingness to bend these fundamentalist beliefs by way of the 1994 ceasefire indicated the first significant step by republicans in the direction toward compromise - compromise that has not been met in kind by loyalists or their counterparts on the British mainland.

Ten years on and the blame for the current political impasse continues to fall in the laps of republicans. Of the numerous paramilitary organizations in Ireland, the IRA was the first group to lay down their arms and call a ceasefire, and the IRA has been the only paramilitary organization to decommission significant numbers of weapons, under the supervision of the International Monitoring Commission. In two historical incidents, the IRA allowed weapons inspectors access to large arms dumps to verify that the weapons had not been used, with significant numbers of said weapons being put beyond use. IRA leadership has announced that another act of completion will take place under the supervision of General de Chastelain, with unionist representatives present, in the coming weeks ahead of the September summit. That equivalent acts of completion are not being required of the still heavily armed loyalist paramilitary organizations speaks to the lunacy of this situation. When unionist politicians say they want an end to paramilitarism, they clearly do not mean that they want the gun removed from Irish politics - they only want the removal of the IRA, while the loyalists remain armed and ready.

How can nationalists be expected to trust a police force that remains predominantly loyalist, and as we have seen in the past month, not only allows disgusting displays of paramilitary and sectarian triumphalism to take place, but works to incite and defend such actions? How can peace ever come when only one group of people are required to lay down their arms while their oppressors remain armed to the teeth?

Nearly a decade after the end of the war on the ground, and 35 years since the deployment of British troops to Ireland during the Battle of the Bogside, the British army have nearly twice as many troops stationed in the North as they have stationed in Iraq. According to a report by the IMC released earlier this year, loyalist paramilitaries are significantly more militarily active than any republican organization. Evidence of collusion between the British crowned forces and loyalist paramilitary organizations in attacks against innocent non-combatant nationalists continue to surface on an alarmingly frequent basis, yet the onus for peace is still placed solely at the doorstep of the republicans as if they bear the entire responsibility for the hardships the island has endured.

The purpose of the IRA ceasefire a decade ago was to create the conditions necessary for the success of the peace talks that eventually culminated into the Good Friday Agreement. This move was unprecedented, and is by far the most significant piece of evidence pointing to the clear commitment republicans have to achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The Agreement was reached in the spring of 1998, and indicated a move for all parties to compromise to make peace on the island. The Agreement, had it been implemented in full before now, could have led to the conditions necessary for the disbandment of the IRA long ago. The loyalists and British chose not to abide by the wishes of the people, and we are still sitting here, ten years after what should have been the “beginning of the end,” trying to find solutions to problems that should have been solved long ago. The fact that the IRA would now be a subject for history books had the British and unionist politicians worked within the Agreement according to the desires of the people in the first place makes each year of continued political impasse that much more unnerving.

The Agreement is not something that was imposed on the people of Ireland against their will by politicians. In two separate referenda in May 1998 the citizens of both the Republic of Ireland and the occupied six counties of the North voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Agreement as the way toward peace. The loyalists have cited the consent principle for decades claiming it is for the people of Ireland to decide their fate, yet when the people have spoken through the ballot box they do not seem to be heard.

Because of the ongoing trend in unionism of using the IRA as a red herring for the true reasons behind unionist refusal to compromise, Gerry Adams recently called on republicans to prepare to remove the IRA as a unionist excuse for refusing to negotiate and work within the Agreement. If the IRA disbanded tomorrow, unionists would find some other excuse to refuse to deal with republicans as equals. As I have said jokingly to many of my fellow activists, the next excuse will likely be a dislike of the color of Martin McGuinness' ties, because legitimate excuses vanished long ago. But have no fear - unionists have made careers out of finding ways to prevent equality for decades, and will likely continue to try. Our job is to make sure they are not successful.