PEACE GETS A CHANCE IN N. IRELAND.Byline: Fawn Vrazo Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Newspapers In the most dramatic and comprehensive bid for peace in three decades of violence, leaders of Northern Ireland's divided Catholic and Protestant communities Friday endorsed a historic agreement to share political power. Guided by former U.S. Senate majority leader George Mitchell George Mitchell may refer to:
n. An Irish political and cultural society founded about 1905 to promote political and economic independence from England, unification of Ireland, and a renewal of Irish culture. , which is allied with the Irish Republican Army Irish Republican Army (IRA), nationalist organization devoted to the integration of Ireland as a complete and independent unit. Organized by Michael Collins from remnants of rebel units dispersed after the Easter Rebellion in 1916 (see Ireland), it was composed of , and his longtime foe, David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party) is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland[1]. , finished a marathon negotiating session Friday with the leaders of eight other parties and gave tentative approval to a delicately balanced agreement that offers political gains to both Catholics and Protestants in the bitterly divided province. The peace agreement - which most had thought impossible until the past few weeks - is hoped to begin the final chapter in 30 years of sectarian warfare known as ``the Troubles,'' which have left more than 3,200 dead. If approved by voters in both Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. and the Irish Republic next month, it also could mark the end of bitter division between Dublin and London that dates back more than 75 years to Ireland's partition into a mostly Catholic independent nation in the south and the mostly Protestant British-controlled north. ``We are seeking to replace the hatreds and fears of so many years, where people understand each other before they even think or try, with a reawakening reawakening n → despertar m reawakening n → réveil m reawakening n → Wiedererwachen nt , however cautious, of the spirit of fellowship,'' said British Prime Minister Tony Blair Noun 1. Tony Blair - British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Blair . Blair and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, worked side by side in shirt sleeves and without sleep for 36 hours to help push for the settlement's final passage, 17 hours past a midnight Thursday deadline. Nearly two years' worth of work almost collapsed late Friday afternoon, when Protestant unionist negotiators split over terms for disarming the militant Catholic IRA Ira, in the Bible Ira (ī`rə), in the Bible. 1 Chief officer of David. 2, 3 Two of David's guard. IRA, abbreviation IRA. and Protestant paramilitary groups The list of paramilitary groups includes all organized armed groups not officially considered a national military force. Groups are listed alphabetically, with the common name as the primary entry. . Calls from Clinton A series of last-minute telephone calls from President Clinton to Trimble, Adams and John Hume John Hume (born 18 January 1937) is an Northern Irish politician, founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble. , leader of the Catholic nationalist Social Democratic and Labor Party, apparently helped avert failure. In Washington on Friday, Clinton called the accord ``the best chance for peace in a generation.'' Adams, who said Friday that Sinn Fein cannot give its definitive approval of the agreement until it is brought before the party's executive committee, nonetheless indicated his party's happiness with it. ``For now it is time to draw a breath, it is time to reflect,'' Adams said. ``Republicans and nationalists will come to this document with skepticism but also with hope.'' The success of any peace settlement in Northern Ireland has been considered unlikely without the endorsement of Sinn Fein. The party's opposition to any agreement would raise fears throughout Northern Ireland and Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. that the IRA would end its cease-fire and resume attacks against both British and Protestant paramilitary targets. For now, at least, the IRA and several Protestant paramilitary groups are maintaining their cease-fires. However, radical splinter groups such as the Loyalist Volunteer Force Noun 1. Loyalist Volunteer Force - a terrorist group formed in 1996 in Northern Ireland; seeks to prevent the peace process; murders Catholics and any Protestant leaders who favor peace and the Irish National Liberation Army Noun 1. Irish National Liberation Army - a radical terrorist group dedicated to the removal of British forces from Northern Ireland and the unification of Ireland Catholic Reaction Force, INLA, People's Liberation Army, People's Republican Army could shatter the tentative mood of hope with continued bombings and assassinations. British rule may end The peace agreement, which will not begin to take effect until it is approved in parallel referendums held in Ireland and Northern Ireland on May 22, would not end British rule in Northern Ireland, nor would it remove British troops from Ulster's streets. But in one of its more important and historic sections, the proposed agreement grants the people of six-county Northern Ireland the right to decide whether Ulster will become part of a united Ireland or remain under British control. Acknowledging that right, the Republic of Ireland agreed to rewrite Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, which lay claim to Northern Ireland, and Great Britain repealed a 1920 act making its own territorial claim. A recent Northern Ireland newspaper poll suggested that unification with Ireland might come only in the distant future, if ever: 97 percent of the province's Protestants and 33 percent of its Catholics preferred to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Those statistics reflect the fact that loyalty to Great Britain frequently has less to do with religious background than with political or economic factors. The accord also offers Northern Ireland's pro-British Protestants a return of the province's assembly, which was disbanded long ago and replaced with direct rule from London. Because Protestants make up about 58 percent of the population, they are sure to dominate the new assembly. But under the agreement's new rules, Sinn Fein and other Catholic parties will be virtually guaranteed seats on a powerful executive committee. And complex voting rules in the assembly itself are meant to ensure that ``cross-community'' support will be required to pass important legislation. For Northern Ireland's Catholic republicans and nationalists, the accord also establishes a North-South council, which will oversee new government bodies covering both Northern Ireland and the 26-county Republic of Ireland to the south. While the council initially may control only noncontroversial areas such as tourism and agriculture, many of Northern Ireland's Catholics hope the new cross-border bodies will plant the seeds for a future united Ireland. HIGHLIGHTS Here are some highlights from the Irish peace agreement, which will be presented to voters in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic on May 22: Elections would be held in June for new Northern Irish governing body, a 108-seat assembly. Catholics and Protestants would share power through a complex set of checks and balances. A new North-South council would be created to promote dialogue between Northern Ireland and Ireland on issues of shared interest. The council could implement all-Ireland policies with the approval of both the Northern Ireland assembly For earlier bodies of the same name, see Northern Ireland Assembly (disambiguation). The Northern Ireland Assembly (Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann,[1] Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie[2] and the Irish parliament in Dublin. There will be referendums on the proposed agreement in Northern Ireland and in the Irish Republic in the south. - Knight Ridder Newspapers CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO Bertie Ahern, left, and Tony Blair celebrate Northern Ireland peace. John Giles/Associated Press BOX: HIGHLIGHTS (see text) |
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