Security difficulties likely to surround next September's negotiations between the Irish and British Governments and the Northern Ireland political parties have been reflected in a report published by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC).
The report catalogued a reduction in British army installations and activities during the past five years and noted there had been no terrorist-related deaths of security force members since 1998. It concluded that law enforcement in Northern Ireland was far from normal, with paramilitary groups remaining active and the incidence of shooting and punishment beatings actually increasing.
The need to create a community-based policing environment in the North is at the heart of the democratic process. Acceptance of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and participation in policing boards is a step Sinn Féin must take if republican paramilitary activity is to cease. Such a move would facilitate an acceleration of the demilitarisation process and a reduction in British troop numbers. Without that commitment, further talk of putting Provisional IRA weapons beyond use may fail to convince the unionist community that the war is really over.
The report on security normalisation was commissioned by the British government to show that progress was being made, even in the absence of formal agreements. Since December 1999, the number of army towers and observation posts has been halved, with a smaller reduction in the number of joint army and police bases. The number of army bases and installations fell by one-quarter and helicopter over-flights by one-third. Troop numbers had not come down significantly, however. And in areas of high deployment, local people objected to the invasion of privacy and the creation of a militarised environment.
The IMC decided to adopt these British army figures as a base-line measurement, pending agreement on the implementation of the terms of the Joint Declaration of April, 2003. It accepted that further "acts of normalisation" could occur in advance of such agreement, as was recently announced. And it envisaged the eventual devolution of policing and justice functions to Northern Ireland institutions.
A climate fostering compromise and progress must be created in advance of the September negotiations. Efforts in that regard have already been made by local politicians in relation to contentious parades. The British government announced there will be a reduction of 2,500 in troop numbers by the end of the year. But support for community policing remains a major sticking point. Until Sinn Féin addresses that issue, the normalisation process will remain incomplete. The situation is made more urgent by the fact that the IMC is due to publish a second report on the activities of paramilitary organisations next October. There is work to be undertaken before a deal can be done with the Democratic Unionist Party.