[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

attempt to halt the violence and bring all parties to the conference table to discuss the future of the
whole country. It largely restated existing positions. But, building on a Protestant paramilitary
cease-fire, the Labour government in 1997 set out conditions and a schedule for peace talks
between all the political parties. An IRA ceasefire was called which allowed Sinn Fein into the
peace process beginning in September 1997.
Multi-party talks held in Belfast in April 1998 concluded with the  Good Friday Agreement .
Legislation was passed in Dublin and London for referendums on the Agreement and provided for
elections to a new Northern Ireland Assembly. In May 1998 referendums on the Agreement were
held. Northern Ireland voted 71.1 per cent in favour and 28.8 per cent against, while in the Irish
Republic the result was 94.3 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively. A new Northern Ireland
Assembly of 108 members was elected by proportional representation (single transferable vote) in
June 1998. A Northern Ireland Act sets out the principle of consent to any change in constitutional
status in Northern Ireland, provides for its administration and contains arrangements for human
rights and equality.
In December 1999, some political power was devolved by the Westminster Parliament to the
Northern Ireland Assembly and its Executive. It has legislative and executive authority to make
laws and take decisions in Northern Ireland, except for reserved UK powers over policing, security
matters, prisons and criminal justice.
A North/South Ministerial Council, North/South Implementation Bodies, a British-Irish Council
and a British/Irish Intergovernmental Conference were also established. These organizations bring
together significant UK and Irish elements in the context of both islands.
7
It is argued that the British-Irish Council is a very positive step and a political expression of the
mixed ethnic and cultural history of the British-Irish Isles. The Council comprises the UK and
Irish governments, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament,
the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and provision for the English regions. It could promote
participation in one democratic, representative British-Irish body for the first time. However, in
February 2000, following a report from the Independent International Commission on
Decommissioning, the Assembly was suspended owing to a lack of progress on the
decommissioning of illegally held weapons, mainly by the IRA. Direct rule from London was
reimposed. Although a settlement was eventually reached and devolved powers were restored to
the Assembly in May 2000, there were further suspensions in 2001 because no progress had been
made on decommissioning. The Peace Agreement was in danger of collapse. But a partial IRA
decommissioning in 2001 allowed the Assembly to continue.
Profound difficulties remain in the path of progress. The Protestant Unionists want to remain part
of the United Kingdom, oppose union with the Republic of Ireland, insist upon the
decommisioning of all IRA weapons and argue that any future solution for Northern Ireland must
lie in consent by a majority of the people living there. Sinn Fein and the IRA are committed to a
united Ireland and argue that a majority of all people (Northern Ireland and the Republic) must
consent to any eventual proposed solution. In addition, dissident groups from the Republican and
Unionist paramilitaries protest against the Good Friday Agreement and continue violent acts in
both Ireland and mainland Britain. The 2001 general election resulted in increased representation
in the UK Parliament for Sinn Fein and the anti-peace agreement Democratic Unionist Party, with
reduced support for the Ulster Unionists and the moderate SDLP. This could indicate more
extreme and hardline positions being taken in Northern Ireland, and the original euphoria over the
Peace Agreement has been reduced.
Opinion polls in recent years indicate a weariness by a majority of the mainland British population
with both sides in Northern Ireland. They are in favour of Irish unification and do not accept the
Labour government s strategy of British withdrawal only with the consent of the majority in
Northern Ireland. A MORI poll in August 2001 of people in mainland Britain found that 26 per
cent of respondents believed that Northern Ireland should remain in the UK and 41 per cent
believed that the province should join the Irish Republic.
[fragments of Chapter 4, pp.93-101, 106-110]
8 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]