Special Report: Focus On Europe
Historic Agreement Reached
on Northern Ireland
The long and often violent conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland ended last spring, when a landmark accord was signed. "Only once in a generation does an opportunity like this come along, an opportunity to resolve our deep and tragic conflict," said John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, Northern Ireland's main Roman Catholic party. The agreement approved in May represents the most important change in the region since 1922, when the Republic of Ireland gained independence from Great Britain (see box below).

President Clinton and his special representative to the peace talks, former Senator George Mitchell, played critical roles in negotiating the agreement. Senator Mitchell crossed the Atlantic more than 100 times to help the two sides

find a way to settle their differences peacefully, and President Clinton was actively involved in the negotiations by telephone.

The historic agreement preserves Northern Ireland's ties with Britain but establishes closer ties to the Republic of Ireland. The 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly, which will be headed by Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble, will make decisions.

The accord also calls for the creation of a North-South Council, a forum within which officials from the

Republic of Ireland can work with officials from Northern Ireland to develop common policies. Areas in which joint policymaking might be attempted include agriculture, transportation, policing, and relations with the European Union.

The durability of the peace agreement is by no means ensured. Over the summer, Protestant demonstrators firebombed a house in Northern Ireland, killing three Catholic children, and 10 Irish Catholic opponents of the agreement were arrested after allegedly trying to plant a bomb in London.

Questions

  1. How does the agreement signed last spring change the way Northern Ireland will be governed?Answer
  2. What role will the North-South Council play?Answer
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Background to the Conflict
Organized opposition to British Rule in Ireland in this century dates from 1905, when Sinn Fein movement was established. In 1919, 73 members of Sinn Fein who had been elected to the British Parliament declared Ireland a Republic. Great Britain immediately sent troops to suppress the Irish separatists. In 1921, after 3 years of war, Great Britain agreed to grant independence to the southern part of Ireland, made up largely of Roman Catholics. However, the six northernmost counties of Ireland, in which two-thirds of the population is Protestant, remained part of great Britain.

People who want Great Britain to continue to rule Northern Ireland are

  People who want Great Britain to continue to rule Northern Ireland are known as "unionists." Most Irish Protestants are unionists. Most Roman Catholics in Norther Ireland oppose British rule and support unification with the Republic of Ireland. People who support the unification with Ireland are know as "nationalists."

To force the British to leave Northern Ireland, the military wing of Sinn Fein, know as the Irish Rebulican Army (IRA), engaged in a long campaign of terrorism. Violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland has taken the lives of more than 3,000 people since the 1960s.