Sir, - The Drumcree impasse may well have strangled the newly-born Assembly. It seems that the defiance of the Parades Commission's decision on Drumcree is supported by roughly 30 per cent of the Northern electorate, who have shown themselves to be unreformed Orange bigots. It behoves all the parties involved to research other possible solutions rather than wringing their hands and watching the whole peace process crumble to dust.
The recent amendments to the Irish Constitution have cleared our decks. Now that the "constitutional imperative" to re-unite our country has been removed, we can look at other possible solutions such as our return to the Commonwealth, the resettlement of intransigent Orangemen in Britain, or re-partition. This last possibility is probably the most promising. An analysis of the election results shows that all the border constituencies have a nationalist/ republican majority.
A re-drawing of the border a few miles north would, for example include such nationalist towns as Rostrevor, Warrenpoint, Newry, Strabane and Derry. All the other rural constituencies, except mid-Ulster, have very substantial loyalist majorities. It is possible that the incorporation of the south-west corner of that constituency in the republic would be feasible. Belfast would remain a problem as it is divided roughly equally.
Re-partition is very much a last resort but surely it is better to accept that if people cannot live together in peace, it is better that they live in peace separately.
Finally, much emphasis has been put on "arms decommissioning" by the IRA. What about a bit of "bigotry decommissioning" by the other side? - Yours, etc., Roger Garland,
Butterfield Drive, Dublin 14.