Answers for N. Ireland's troubles

In the Opinion page article "Northern Ireland's Grim Refrain," Feb. 6, the author's view that Ulster could become another Lebanon if British troops were to withdraw is well taken.

The European Community will eventually play a role in shaping the type of society that Northern Ireland will become; but for now and the foreseeable future, the key to peace is to be found in Dublin. Only in a recast Republic (based, for example, on the Spanish model of regiones autonomas) could the Ulster Protestant majority find acceptance in exchange for recognizing the sovereignty of the South.

If the Republic indeed lays claim to a united Ireland, it must have the political courage to implement the constitutional modifications to bring it about. It might be a solution London couldn't refuse. James Maharg, Oak Park, Ill.

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