School stand-off may hurt peace process

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, SEPT. 6. The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr. John Reid cut short his holiday in France and returned home today as the stand-off between loyalists and republicans over a disputed route to a school in north Belfast persisted.

Efforts by the Security Minister, Ms. Jane Kennedy on Wednesday to resolve the dispute failed with both sides blaming each other for this week's flare-up in which Catholic children, walking past loyalist homes in the predominantly Protestant neighbourhood of Ardoyne, have been verbally abused and attacked by residents. The situation was comparatively quiet today after Wednesday's mayhem following a bomb blast on the contentious school route, but tension remained high with residents jeering and whistling as parents escorted their children to the school through a security cordon.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, was reported to be concerned how the developments would impact on the peace process as analysts feared that loyalist violence was likely to harden the IRA's position on giving up its weapons. The peace process is deadlocked over the weapons issue and if no agreement is reached by September 23, the British Government would have to either suspend the Northern Ireland Assembly or dissolve it and call fresh elections.

``There are fears in the Government that the confrontation is endangering the peace process by taking the spotlight off efforts to put pressure on Sinn Fein and the IRA to decommission weapons before the latest deadline expires,'' The Times said. With extremist armed groups reported to be active again, the ceasefire declared by major paramilitaries as part of the peace process was itself under pressure, raising fears of a new spiral of violence.

The depth of sectarian hatred, revealed by this week's developments, particularly the targeting of young school girls, has shocked Britain and Dr. Reid, normally not given to outbursts, denounced it as a descent into ``barbarism.'' In a statement, he said another generation had been introduced to the ``shameful side of our society'' and regretted that ``violent sectarian bigotry'' had got to a point where even innocent children were not spared. ``What we have seen develop in the past few days is the path to barbarism. I cannot believe the people of North Belfast want that. I believe most of them want their elected representatives and community leaders to talk together now,'' he said calling for an end to the protests as he planned to hold talks with the two sides to settle the dispute.

The loyalist/Unionist leadership came under pressure to rein in the protesters but the loyalists maintained that they were simply reacting to republican ``intimidation'' and accused the IRA of using children as ``pawns''. Local Unionist leaders condemned the violence but insisted that republicans were to blame for creating a provocative situation in the first place. They said all through the summer, loyalists suffered ``intimidation'' by republican extremists and demanded an end to it.

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Section  : International
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