N. Ireland rivals clinch historic self-rule deal
NORTHERN IRELAND: Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic
leaders clinched a historic 11th-hour deal Monday to restore self-rule
for the province, after unprecedented face-to-face talks.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the deal as opening a "new
era" for the long-troubled province, even though it delays the
resumption of self-rule by six weeks until May 8.
More than 3,000 people were killed in three decades of "The Troubles"
in Northern Ireland until the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.
Ian Paisley, firebrand leader of Protestant conservatives the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Gerry Adams, president of Catholic
socialists Sinn Fein, struck the deal hours before a midnight deadline
set by Britain to agree or see rule continue from London indefinitely.
Paisley and Adams were figureheads of Northern Ireland's sectarian
divide and bitter foes throughout The Troubles.
The State Department in Washington described their meeting as
"historic" and said the deal would allow Northern Ireland to restore
self-rule.
"It is certainly a very positive step and one that moves the process
forward. We welcome it and certainly hope to see that agreement now
implemented," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.
Blair, who hopes his role in negotiating the province's future will
form a cornerstone of his legacy once he leaves office this year, led
praise for the deal.
"Everything we have done over the last 10 years has been a
preparation for this moment," he said.
According to separate statements read out by Paisley and Adams - who
sat inches apart but did not shake hands for the cameras - the parties
will restore self-rule to Belfast on May 8, as proposed by the DUP.
Paisley wanted to delay the initial deadline due to DUP concerns over
Sinn Fein's support for policing in Northern Ireland.
The 80-year-old preacher said that the province's leaders owed it to
those who had died in "The Troubles" to build a better future.
"We must never forget those who have suffered during the dark period
from which we are, please God, emerging," he said.
"We owe it to them to craft and build the best future possible and
ensure there is genuine support for those who are still suffering."
In a speech punctuated with Gaelic, Adams added that the agreement
"marks the beginning of a new era of politics on this island."
"The discussions and agreement between our two parties shows the
potential of what can now be achieved," Adams said.
"We have all come a very long way in the process of peace making and
national reconciliation."
Ireland's Belfast-born President Mary McAleese said an "extraordinary
day" had seen the marking of a "profoundly important milestone on the
journey towards lasting peace and reconciliation."
The British government had insisted that its original March 26
deadline was "set in stone" but the unprecedented meeting between the
rival leaders prompted greater flexibility.
Emergency legislation was to be rushed through the British parliament
in London on Tuesday to give effect to the Paisley-Adams deal.
The DUP has until now refused to speak to Sinn Fein, the political
wing of the ex-paramilitary Irish Republican Army.
Paisley is now likely to become the province's first minister, with
Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, as
his probable deputy.
The Northern Ireland Assembly was created by the landmark 1998 Good
Friday peace agreement, which aimed to form the lasting settlement
following paramilitary ceasefires. It has been suspended since October
2002 when allegations surfaced of a republican spy-ring operating at the
Assembly buildings, and Northern Ireland has been governed directly from
London ever since.
Blair and Ahern revived prospects for power-sharing in Northern
Ireland with the so-called Saint Andrews Agreement in November last
year.
A smiling British Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said Monday's
accord was even better than he could have expected.
"If we had restored today it would have been rather grudging and
difficult, and the executive would have stuttered into life," he said.
The delay would allow the administration to be "really bedded down" when
it assumed power, he added.
Belfast, Tuesday, AFP. |