The Irish Times view on Northern Ireland’s impasse: when stalemate leaves a vacuum
Deadlock will prevail in the North at least until Brexit is resolved, but that is no excuse for violence
The bomb in Derry at the weekend has been cited as a foretaste of what could happen if there is a restoration of a hard border due to Brexit but politicians of all stripes need to be careful about suggesting that violence will become inevitable if the United Kingdom crashes out of the European Union without a deal. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The car bomb in Derry at the weekend was a reminder that a small number of fanatics, willing to risk killing and maiming people in pursuit of their aims, remain a threat to peace on the island. This should serve as a wake-up call to politicians to retreat from the extremes and live up to their responsibilities by finding a way to restore the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement.
The bomb has been cited as a foretaste of what could happen if there is a restoration of a hard border following Brexit. But politicians of all stripes need to be careful about predicting violence if the United Kingdom exits the European Union without a deal. There is nothing inevitable about violence and dissident republicans should be offered neither justification nor a rationale for their actions.