Letter: In Brief

Sir: Thank you for your leading article, "Words can only be stretched so far in Northern Ireland" (29 March). There are weapons and terrorists on both sides of the divide. Why cannot Mr Adams and Mr Trimble acknowledge this, shake hands and say, "We will work together in the new administration to decommission all weapons in Northern Ireland"? Am I being too naive and is this too simplistic?

PETER ARTHUR

Cambridge