Northern Ireland's brighter prospects

Last week saw many at Westminster celebrating.

Northern Ireland's brighter prospects deserved to be celebrated, even if the worrying international situation overshadowed the good news.

The long awaited IRA announcement of the start of arms decommissioning was genuinely historic.

While we should remain cynical and cautious about any IRA initiative, their decision to put arms verifiably beyond use is hugely significant. It could unlock full implementation of the Good Friday peace agreement.

There are still many obstacles to overcome. This is, after all, only a first step in IRA decommissioning. As I write, loyalist paramilitaries like the Ulster Volunteer Force have yet to indicate whether they will disarm.

Moreover, wounds, distrust and hatred run deep in all too many communities of Northern Ireland. Recent appalling events at the Holy Cross primary school in Ardoyne bear witness to that.

In my discussions with Northern Irish politicians, they worry that the very structure of the Northern Irish Assembly has institutionalised sectarianism, as politicians must be identified as coming from one side of the divide.

Yet I remember how many people doubted we would ever reach this point. I recall how I myself once thought peace could never be achieved.

If this progress can be built upon, if the killing, maiming and organised crime can be eliminated, it will be the most wonderful of achievements. Its many authors, from John Major to Tony Blair, will be rightly praised by history.

It is though the most bitter of ironies that as we may be about to rid ourselves of one terrorist threat another has grown to replace it.