Euskaraz irakurri: Bakeak kimera da oraindik Ipar Irish, Ostiral Santuko Akordioak sinatu zirenetik 25 urte bete direnean

This Monday is fulfilled 25 years of the Good Friday agreements ending three decades of painful and violent conflict in Northern Ireland. The agreements of the April 10, 1998 marked the beginning of the end of the confrontations, from a consensus that is now falteringagitated by the political side effects of the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

The Northern Irish conflict has its estate in the conquest of Ireland by the English, in the XII centuryAlthough relations were good until the XVI. Then Great Britain converted to Protestantism; Ireland remained Catholic. It was then that the British kings sent, especially to the rebellious north, Presbyterian settlers from Scotland, ancestors of today’s unionist Protestants.

Centuries later, in 1921, and after two years of war, the south obtains its freedom and keeps the name of Ireland; in exchange, the six northern counties, Ulster, remain in the United Kingdom. Is the partition of the island. In the north, unionist theses then triumphed, to the detriment of those of the republicans, who wanted (and still want 100 years later) to integrate into independent Ireland.

The political and social discrepancies derived decades later in the creation of armed groups: on the part of the unionists, the paramilitary emerged Ulster Volunteer Forcewhile on the rival side the Irish Republican Army, known by the English acronym of GONNA.

three decades of violence

In 1968 the problems began‘The Troubles’in English), the euphemism by which a conflict that claimed over three decades of 3500 lives (half, civilians) of which two thirds are attributed to republican paramilitary groups, and the rest to loyalist paramilitary groups and security forces.

Among the bloodiest and most remembered episodes, the Bloody Sundayin which British soldiers shot civilians during a protest march, killing 14 people (all of them Catholics), in full view of the public and the press.

Mural on Bloody Sunday. Photo: EFE.

The agreement, which is now a quarter of a century old, had as its main challenge drawing a new framework for political coexistence that would also reflect the complex social fabric of a people divided in two, with divisions established even in the religious field, since unionists are in their majority Protestants, while the Republicans identify with Catholicism.

The Agreements laid the foundations for a framework of respect between the two parties and, in the political arena, gave rise to a new Parliament based in Belfast and a government that was bound to be a coalition. The Nationalists, led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Republicans, led by Sinn Féinthe political wing of the IRA, were forced to sit at the same table.

The armed groups gave up the fight armed and produced releases, while London agreed to give up much of its military presence. as a gesture of détente, in a practically festive atmosphere that transcended the political protocol and of which public figures were a part.

United States, then headed by the Democrat Bill Clintonacted as a mediator in these negotiations, which concluded with the signing of the two main political leaders of Ireland and the United Kingdom: Tony Blair for the British side and Bertie Ahern for the Irish side.

Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair.

attempts at violence

the dealhowever, it did not mean the complete end of the violencesince although the main armed leaders agreed to lay down their arms, certain divisions within the IRAcreating subgroups that are still active today and are still a threat in the eyes of the authorities.

In fact, the british government decided this past March to raise serious he anti-terrorism alert level, which implies considering “very probable” that attacks will take place. He responded like this to murder in February of a police officer, John Caldwell, shot dead after attending a children’s soccer game. The attack was claimed responsibility for the New IRA.

An independent investigation published in 2018 estimated 158 fatalities due to paramilitary activities after the signing of the Good Friday Agreements.

The Brexit Earthquake

Northern Ireland today is not the same as it was 25 years ago. In September 2022the census reflected for the first time that there were more people who identified themselves as Catholics than Protestants, and in the parliamentary elections in May for the first time Sinn Féin obtained first place, to the detriment of the DUP, which had always assumed the position of chief minister and, therefore, the baton of the Government.

Sinn Fein wins the May 2022 elections. EFE

All this in a context marked since 2016 by the Brexit. In June of that year, a majority of British citizens -also in Northern Ireland- supported a referendum on the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, which forced to redraw a framework of relations which had, among its thorniest points, the border on the island of Ireland.

The British Government and the European Commission devised what is known as Northern Ireland Protocolannexed to the Brexit agreements and which drove away the ghost of a ‘hard border’. It allowed Northern Ireland to remain linked to the common European market, but required the establishment of a series of controls on trade with England, Scotland and Wales.

Sunak and Von der Leyen on the agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. EFE

The unionist suspicion towards these controls, alleging that it limits fluid relations with the rest of the United Kingdom, has led to a political blockade in Northern Ireland, to the point that this area has no government since the last elections. The DUP has refused to facilitate institutional functioning and agree to a new coalition until their demands are taken into account.

The three-way pulse resulted in the Windsor Framework in March of this year, a new text that simplifies these controls and that has the approval of the majority of the deputies in the House of Commons. The DUP, however, has asked for time to examine all the details and derivatives and has yet to decide whether to take the final step to build bridges with Sinn Féin again.

Sunak will receive Biden

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, has recalled the transcendental importance of the Good Friday Agreements. “The Good Friday Agreements represented an incredible moment in our nation’s history, and a powerful and rare example of how a group of people did the previously unthinkable to create a better future for Northern Ireland,” Sunak said. .

“In the days ahead I will think, above all, of that promise of a better future that we offered to all the citizens of Northern Ireland. It is my responsibility as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to make sure that we are going to deliver it,” he added.

The commemorative acts of the 25th anniversary of the agreements will have the president of the United States, Joe Biden (of Irish origin), as an exceptional guest. Biden will arrive in the United Kingdom on Tuesday evening and is scheduled to visit Belfast in which both leaders will remember the mediation work carried out by the then US president, Bill Clinton, to end decades of bloody conflict.

Source: Eitb

Ricardo

Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.