The Northern Ireland peace process is in crisis following the resignation of Mr. David Trimble, the province's first minister. Mr. Trimble gave up his office earlier this month, blaming the Irish Republican Army, which has failed to give up its weapons. Mr. Trimble is not alone in blaming the terrorist organization for holding up progress toward peace in the troubled province: The international commission charged with monitoring the decommissioning of weapons agreed, as did British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The time has come for Sinn Fein, the political organization that speaks for the IRA, to push the organization to give up some of its weapons.
Mr. Trimble's move was no surprise. He had made it clear months ago that he would resign if there were no progress on decommissioning. British elections, held early last month, only confirmed the urgency of such a move. In that ballot, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein -- the two parties on the extremes of Northern Ireland politics -- were the big winners. The DUP, a Protestant party headed by the Rev. Ian Paisley, which opposes the Good Friday agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland three years ago, picked up three seats. Sinn Fein doubled its representation in the national assembly (going from two seats to four). Mr. Trimble's Ulster Unionists lost five seats, and the other centrist party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, registered no change.
Northern Ireland's citizens are reportedly growing weary of the hedging and the halfhearted commitment to the Good Friday agreement. They are also growing wary. Three years after the accords were signed and the province entered into a historic power-sharing arrangement, the foundation of peace is not yet firm. There is blame to be apportioned on both sides, but the IRA's unwillingness to turn over a single weapon is an unmistakable challenge to the integrity of the accords.