Opinion

Reminders of the past should focus minds on ensuring a better future

The release of state papers serves as a reminder of the terrible times we, as a society, have endured.

Previously secret government files in Belfast and Dublin from 1996 provide a sense of the fraught atmosphere that surrounded the peace process.

The IRA ceasefire had broken down in February 1996, deep suspicions remained between key political figures and contentious marches were ratcheting up tensions.

That year we witnessed shocking violence and lawlessness around the Drumcree protest which was rightly described as a 'disaster' for community relations.

Those who remember that awful period will recall the widespread fear generated by the standoff, the serious disorder that broke out across the north and the appalling loss of life in this and subsequent years in relation to the protest.

If anything, the memory of that time should act as a spur to today's political leaders, to ensure that we never again have to live through such trauma.

According to the Northern Ireland Office, talks aimed at restoring the Assembly are due to restart on Thursday, the second day of the New Year.

The parties have had a break over the festive period after the DUP was blamed for thwarting a deal just before Christmas.

Hopefully, this respite has allowed for a period of reflection and we can expect minds to be focused on getting the institutions back in place.

There is a deadline with the parties under pressure to find agreement by January 13, otherwise they could face fresh Assembly elections.

Having just emerged from an especially bruising general election campaign, Sinn Féin and the DUP may be reluctant to put the electorate to the test quite so soon.

It is also questionable whether the voters, having sent a clear message in the December poll, want to go through it all again just weeks later.

It is almost three years since the power-sharing structures collapsed and much has happened in the interim.

There is an appetite for a fully functioning administration that is working on behalf of all citizens, tackling the serious problems in our health service and education sector, attracting investment, building the economy and ensuring we have a stable, inclusive and tolerant society.

We cannot change our past but we can make sure we have a better future.