If conciliatory gestures can break political impasses then Mr David Trimble's suggestion yesterday that substantive discussion on the future of Northern Ireland might proceed by pigeonholing arms decommissioning so long as Sinn Fein is not involved in the talks holds out hope of progress. And if conciliatory language can be the herald of honourable agreement there is some room for optimism that the North might be spared a repeat of last year's shocking events in Drumcree. Two signs of movement from within the unionist family this week should be taken seriously by whatever government emerges from today's election count.
Mr Trimble seems to be signalling a willingness to move into the substantive phase of talks ahead of the other unionist parties and is indicating an intelligent means of doing so. He is also keen to take the initiative ahead of the arms decommissioning discussions going on between Dublin and London. Time would quite rapidly tell whether he is motivated primarily by a strategic commitment to real negotiations or by tactical considerations. What would happen if a ceasefire were to be declared and Sinn Fein presented itself for entry? Would the decommissioning issue simply reappear? But this is an interesting move which should be tested.
The tone of the letter from the County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge to residents of the Garvaghy Road is very different from previous communications. It talks of sincere and genuine attempts to reach an agreement, of mutual respect and reconciliation and of a new spirit of toleration and it backs up this approach with a series of detailed points about how their proposed march will be conducted.
This is a welcome departure from the dreary confrontationalism that has marked so many exchanges on the issue. The authors of the letter must be commended for their initiative. Although it is now getting perilously close to the marching season, a central question remains to be resolved the need for dialogue and local accommodation over the march. This point was made very well by the chairman of the Parades Commission, Mr Alistair Graham, in a policy paper to explain its continuing valuable work of mediation and brokerage between contending communities.
Within the context of the Drumcree parade the need for dialogue requires that the Orange lodge and the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition should find a way to talk directly to one another. Their inability to do so revolves around the role of Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith because he has served a period in prison on IRA offences. The Orangemen say they "cannot be involved in talks with convicted terrorists because of what they have inflicted on our community"; but the residents have decisively elected Mr Mac Cionnaith to represent them.
The commission could have a role to play in breaking this deadlock, against the background of high level political meetings in recent days. All concerned should take full account of the tone of this letter and of the spirit behind it. But dialogue requires recognition, sooner or later. In the spirit of compromise and consensus it should be possible to find a way through this impasse. If there is a willingness to strike an eventual bargain on letting the march proceed so long as recognition is afforded, such an agreement could be brokered indirectly at a high political level before it is formally agreed by the appropriate representatives.