The fundamental obstacle to full realisation of the Belfast Agreement is the tyranny of fear, writes Dermot Ahern
The Belfast Agreement of 1998 envisaged a human rights-based democracy of equals in Northern Ireland. We will not relent in our efforts to achieve the full potential of the agreement, including the restoration of an inclusive government on a stable and durable basis.
The fundamental obstacle to the full realisation of the agreement is the tyranny of fear. One of the clearest examples is the fear that surrounds all those involved in the McCartney case, particularly those who fear for their safety if they help the police to bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime and its subsequent cover-up. That kind of fear is generated by a culture of paramilitarism and its related intimidation and punishment attacks.
It has recently been asserted that the Irish Government has chosen to attack Sinn Féin for party political advantage. This assertion is both wrong and self-serving. Sinn Féin is being challenged because the licence granted its leadership to manage a transition over a period of time from paramilitarism to peace and democracy has expired.
It is now simply not acceptable to deflect attention from the huge issues raised by the murder of Robert McCartney and the Northern Bank raid by resorting to a narrative of political victimhood, or by seeking to explain them away through the comfortable dichotomies of British versus Irish, unionist versus nationalist.
That form of politics, like paramilitarism itself, feeds off and deepens community division and generates fear and suspicion.
The present situation demands a move beyond that form of politics. It demands a shift in focus from ongoing process to definitive peace.
This will require concrete action to end the culture of paramilitarism and the concomitant absence of justice.
In the wake of the Northern Bank raid and the McCartney case, the undeniable political reality is that absolute certainty about the Provisional movement's intentions is now required before we can advance political progress towards an inclusive Executive.
Where does that certainty lie?
I think it lies primarily in the one area of the agreement that the Provisional movement has been most reluctant to engage on - policing.
Sinn Féin's spokesmen have spoken about the implementation of the Patten report on policing being "mangled". I have heard the sound bites and the generalities. Yet I have yet to see a cogent and detailed analysis of this from Sinn Féin.
Yes, I know that there is continuing and deep concern about some issues from the past. It is against this background - and of course given the circumstances of the case itself - that the Government has insisted on the faithful implementation of the Weston Park agreement in regard to the murder of Pat Finucane.
Some of the bravest, most impressive people I have encountered in recent times are the independent members, both unionist and nationalist, who have taken up positions on the Policing Board and the district policing partnerships. In order to make the police force better serve and more accountable to their communities, many have risked life and limb. It is time for the Provisional movement to follow their lead.
There has been widespread acknowledgement that the Policing Board has been one of the great successes of post-agreement politics in the North. The Policing Board has ably fulfilled its mandate of holding the chief constable to account. It also supervises and monitors the effectiveness of the district policing partnerships which are the engine of community policing, itself the very heart of Patten.
In his latest report, the independent Oversight Commissioner for Policing, Al Hutchinson, described the process of change as "remarkable and unparalleled in the history of democratic policing reform". He also pointed out that what is needed now, to realise fully the vision of Patten and the Belfast Agreement, is the full support of the entire community for the police.
The people of Ireland need to be convinced that the men who inhabit the shadow lands of paramilitarism are departing the scene. One way to achieve that would be through an acceptance of policing by the Provisional movement.
As Sinn Féin leaders said last weekend, the republican cause was indeed sullied when Robert McCartney was murdered and an elaborate cover-up carried out. But the republican cause is sullied every time the IRA dispenses its unacceptable form of justice. Republican communities themselves do not want to continue to live in a society run by vigilantes.
The challenge now for Sinn Féin is to convince us that they want decent policing in Northern Ireland and that they are in a position to make a contribution towards it. A decision to support policing means offering positive encouragement to young nationalists to join the police or the part-time reserve. It means contributing constructively to the work of the Policing Board and the district policing partnerships and an end to all subtle forms of discouragement and intimidation that are still inhibiting ordinary people from dealing with the police.
It is not possible to half-support an institution like the police. That has been made abundantly clear in the McCartney case. Any half-hearted endorsement of policing by Sinn Féin would be a retrograde step. The Patten project is too important to be jeopardised by tactical moves. Above all, Sinn Féin needs to convince those whom they will be working with on policing that they are committed to the rule of law. And that means a convincing end to paramilitarism and crime.
Policing remains a crucial key to unlocking the problems that have plagued us, as is the restoration of an inclusive Executive. A decision by Sinn Féin to support and work the new policing arrangements would be a welcome step forward if its precise words are matched with concrete deeds. It can only be truly convincing if it happens in the context of ending paramilitary activity and crime.
I do not underestimate the challenge that represents for all concerned, but its achievement would be a further qualitative and defining move towards the new beginning to which we are all committed.
Dermot Ahern is Minister for Foreign Affairs