Road to peace

The results of Friday’s referendum are stunning: 71 percent of voters in Northern Ireland and 94 percent in the Republic of Ireland want political solutions, not bloodshed. But ending war is one thing — building peace will be quite another.

The people of Northern Ireland know the troubles ahead. Even as the lopsided numbers were being tallied, the mood in Belfast was one of anxiety, not jubilation. Local television, in fact, had to broadcast footage from Irish bars in New York and Washington to convey a sense of celebration.

The provisions of the accord present perils enough. The next step is for Northern Ireland to go back to the polls June 25 to elect a 108-member legislative assembly that will take over governance from Britain’s Northern Ireland Ministry. Already, the noisy Unionist preacher Ian Paisley is campaigning to see that the new body is stacked with enough fellow hard-liners to prevent any further progess in bringing the North and the Republic together.

Later this summer, the governments of Britain and Ireland must agree to legislation regarding the early release of prisoners, every one a freedom fighter to some and a terrorist to others. Next summer brings a deadline for a new policing arrangement for Northern Ireland and a review of the province’s criminal justice system. In 2000, finally, complete disarmament of all paramilitary groups.

Beyond the accord, the devilish details mount. Already, Unionists who voted for the pact are talking about backing the Protestant Paisley to keep Catholics from gaining too much clout in the new assembly. The IRA and other well-armed paramilitary organizations on both sides will not give up their arsenals willingly. Unknown splinter groups are ready to step in and grab headlines with fresh atrocities. The release of prisoners, many with the blood of the innocent on their hands, surely will fire passions. Even as votes were being counted Saturday, Irish police intercepted 1,000 pounds of explosives headed for Belfast and a small bomb damaged a railroad bridge in that city’s west end. Clearly, it will take an incredible amount of spirit to uphold the letter of this accord.

The people of Ireland, sickened by more than 3,200 senseless deaths in the last 30 years, have turned their backs on violence and now begin the long journey toward reconciliation. May the road rise up to meet them.