If there is ever a Nobel Prize awarded for political miracle-working, George Mitchell has a strong case for being its first recipient. Last week the former US Senator, in his role as chairman of the "review" phase of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, concluded another agreement between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists that has apparently saved the peace process, yet again, from imminent collapse. Northern Ireland now has its first government since direct rule from London was imposed more than 25 years ago. For the moment, anyway.
The impasse between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists had dragged on for a full year, halting all political movement in the province and giving rise to fears that militant dissidents on both sides would try to fill the political vacuum with violence. The Good Friday Agreement had envisioned the formation of the Assembly Executive and the devolution of some power from London by November 1998, but that did not happen. The Ulster Unionists insisted, until last Monday, that they would not form a government with Sinn Fein until the IRA began disarming. The IRA was not about to submit to unionist demands for its disarmament, and Sinn Fein had no power to make them do so even if it had wanted to.
Enter George Mitchell. For over six weeks he led discussions between the parties to try and get the Agreement working again. Neither side seemingly had any room to give. Sinn Fein consistently insisted that it simply had no power to force the IRA to start disarming before the executive was formed. David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionists, was busy watching his back as his opponents within the UUP, a sizable block, warned him that the party would not tolerate any diversion from the disarmament-before-government position. He was ever mindful of the fate of Brian Faulkner, a UUP leader who tried to take his unwilling party into a power-sharing government in the seventies and who was quickly brought down, more than a tad ironically, by Trimble himself among others.
As Mitchell's review wound up, the deal took form. The UUP would have to drop its "guns before government" stance. Sinn Fein and the IRA would each make statements of peaceful intent, and the executive would be quickly formed. After formation of the executive, the IRA would appoint a representative to the disarmament commission and discussions would begin on how to dispose of its weaponry.
