Terry Wright: Condemnation from political leaders is important but it is not enough

Others, not shown on the news, did likewise.Within the community, initial shock turned to anger and disapproval. Local stakeholders moved to limit the damage to the reputation of the city. Politicians on all sides voiced condemnation. On the political front little happened. Now, the life of a young journalist has been ended too soon by politically motivated violence; an accident we are told by the group involved. Political leaders have gathered to voice their condemnation. This is important but it is not enough if they retreat to the ruts in which they have entrenched their leadership. Public words of condemnation, however sincere and well-intentioned, are no compensation for the effects of the wrecking-ball politics which trap the community and produce an environment in which groups wedded to violence seek to prosper. We have government in absentia. Candidates are currently coming to our doors to ask for votes but what is being offered apart from soundbites, a call to vote for us to keep the other out and promises which can never be delivered in the absence of collaborative relationships, inclusion, joined-up government and a spirit of reconciliation where communities are at risk of retrenchment?There is an increasing proportion of the electorate that wants normalcy but is left to hover on the margins. It is getting what it did not vote for and wants politicians to differ in a civil way and get things done.After nearly 30 months of publicly funded stalemate at Stormont murder on the streets cries out that enough is enough. If there was ever a time for political parties to start talking and listening in the pubic gaze, to do something rather than nothing, it is now. Is it not obvious to obdurate politicians that when they lose integrity, so do their politics; that some will use the situation to discredit the ballot box and abandon the potential for consensus? There needs to be a renewal of the Good Friday Agreement around reconciliation and the mutual obligation to make things work. The secretary of state needs to display less timidity in challenging politicians to deliver stability and restore the loss of respect for politicians and politics. A return to the status quo will not suffice.It is time to review Stormont structures to provide for the silenced voice of civic and community sectors. This is more likely to define our future by the changes that need to take place. Terry Wright, Londonderry