Forwards and backwards
by Michael Maiello

On December 11th, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at number 10 Downing Street, the first meeting between a British Prime Minister and Sinn Fein since 1921. The Royal Family gathered in Portsmouth to decommission the Royal Yacht Britannia, leaving the Royals without a yacht for the first time in 350 years. It's a coincidence which illustrates conditions in the old world, and the new place Britain is finding for itself in the next millennium.

Adams called the talks a "good moment in history" and an opportunity to look "forwards, not backwards." Meanwhile, a crew of 250 yachtsmen await new assignments, or move into civilian retirement as the Britannia will be turned into a commercial cruiser, catering to the rich who would want a ride on the old Royal conveyance. The Queen fought back tears at the ceremony.

Adams and his associates are all suspected members in the Irish Republican Army high command. The IRA has historically been the military arm of the Sinn Fein political movement. That the British government would invite Sinn Fein to a meeting, offering a legitimacy long denied, is a loud gesture of change and expression of exhaustion. As long as England kept Sinn Fein from the table, the IRA had no recourse but violence.

The meeting drew stern criticism from people who would rather no speak with, or even acknowledge Sinn Fein and the IRA. Ulster Unionist leaders in Northern Ireland still refuse to meet with Sinn Fein until the IRA disarms. Of course, they won't disarm. Their weapons have been their only bargaining chip. Sinn Fein wouldn't have existed if not for an armed revolution, and they have good reason to think they would not be meeting with Blair without the history of violence.

Adams has been barred from using House of Commons facilities because he refuses to swear allegiance to the monarchy. Adams is an elected official and member of the House of Commons. But he has refused to take an oath to the Crown, and paid the price. The Crown, meanwhile, has been watching a parade and crying over their lost boat and hosting a banquet for 2000 people 150 miles north of Downing Street.

The symbolism of Britain has little to do with its substance. The Crown lost its boat because the British government could no longer justify the expense. They don't need a boat. So, why should it matter if Gerry Adams swears his allegiance to the Royal family? If he does swear his allegiance, is he obligated to by a Diana tribute CD?

Adams is caught in the past as well, and confused by old rebel symbolism which won't serve him at negotiating tables. A convicted double murderer and IRA terrorist escaped from a British jail the day before Adams was to meet Blair. Adams was quick to publicly wish the escapee luck on the run, causing the paranoid belief that the IRA engineered the escape to embarrass the British government.

There's a chance at peace in Northern Ireland. Adams has gotten Sinn Fein into the Prime Minister's office for only the second time this century. But just as the British haven't learned to drop their rhetoric of the Crown, he hasn't learned to drop the rhetoric of the revolution.

The retired yacht symbolizes the end of empire. It's the yacht the Royals used to visit the empire, and the yacht Prince Charles took to the handing over ceremony in Hong Kong. Britain looks towards a future as participants, rather than emperors of global politics. Participants in the United Nations, the European Economic Union, the peaceful relieving of tensions in Northern Ireland. They can do a lot of good, and save a lot of lives. But they'll have to stop acting like an empire with a divine monarchy.

Forwards, not backwards? Maybe. But in uncertain, tentative steps. Expect them to lose a few steps here and there.

Michael Maiello left Ireland a couple weeks back. He's still searching for a new temporary home.

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