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AN IRISH PEACE?
Will the new peace deal hold? April 17, 1998 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
So who won in the peace talks? Will this improve relations between Catholic and Protestants? Will the deal really stop the violence? Will the different structures in the peace deal really work together? How will the release of political prisoners impact the stability in the region? How institutionalized have the "Troubles" become?
NEWSHOUR LINKS:
April 10, 1998
Independent chairman of the peace talks, former Senator George Mitchell, discusses today's agreement.
April 9, 1998
Two reporters discuss the latest developments in the Irish peace process.
March 17, 1998
P.M. Bertie Ahern discusses efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
August 4, 1997
Northern Ireland talk chairman George Mitchell discusses the status of negotiations.
July 21, 1997
Ireland: More Steps Toward Peace.
February 12, 1996
An IRA bomb shatters the 18 month ceasefire.
Online Forum
Northern Ireland Peace Talks.
Online Forum
The Greening of the White House: a look at U.S. - Northern Ireland relations.
OUTSIDE LINKS:
Full text of the draft peace proposal from Britain's Northern Ireland Office.
BBC
After three centuries of violence, two years of negotiations, and thousands killed, there is a new hope for peace in Northern Ireland; delegates to the peace talks announced on April 10 that they have reached a deal to bring a political peace to the country.
Following a bloody civil war, a 1920 treaty divided the island in two; the 26, Catholic-majority countries to the South became the independent Republic of Ireland; and the six, Protestant-majority counties in the North remained under British control. Since this division, violence in Northern Ireland between Protestant unionists and Catholic republicans has killed thousands, 3200 have died in the past thirty years during a period known as "The Troubles."
The proposal, announced on Good Friday, seeks to develop a complex set of relationships between a new Northern Ireland Assembly and the parliaments of both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Although the deal has received the support of most of the delegates, there is still little consensus over how strong the ties between Northern Ireland and the Republic to the south should be.
KEY POINTS OF THE PEACE DEAL:
NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY:
Elections in June for a 108-seat assembly at Stormont, former center of a Protestant-dominated parliament abolished in 1972. Checks and balances require Protestants and Catholics to share power and responsibilities.Powers now administered by Britain's Northern Ireland Office will not be handed back to local politicians until early 1999 -- and only if the assembly members agree on how to participate in the North-South Council.
NORTH-SOUTH COUNCIL:
A forum for ministers from the Irish Republic's government to promote joint policy-making with the new Northern Ireland assembly. Areas of potential common interest include agriculture, transportation links, policing and relations with the European Union. Will have powers to implement all-Ireland policies -- but only with the approval of both the Northern Ireland assembly and the Irish parliament in Dublin.
EAST-WEST COUNCIL:
Lawmakers from the Irish Republic will meet regularly with members of the British Parliament from London, the Northern Ireland assembly, and with representatives of the new parliament for Scotland and assembly for Wales. It will have no administrative or legislative powers.
IRISH CONSTITUTION:
Republic of Ireland will hold referendum on amending the country's constitution, which now claims the territory of Northern Ireland.The agreement creates a series of North-South "committees" that must answer to both London and Dublin in an effort to appease pro-British and pro-Irish factions. These committees will debate issues affecting the two regions, but all proposals must be approved by the respective governments.
Although the agreement could be the key to peace in the region, the road ahead is far from certain. Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, and several Protestant paramilitary groups have tentatively agreed to the proposal, but radical elements on both sides are threatening renewed violence. The draft proposal must now be voted on by the people of Northern Ireland in May, but until then, experts warn that these extremists will try to undermine the proposal by increasing the violence. Also, the leaders who have signed the agreement must now convince their respective groups to support the new governing structure.
The Clinton administration made the negotiations a high priority in its foreign policy. Almost four years ago, President Clinton sent former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to act as a special envoy and he personally traveled to the region at the end of 1995 to bolster the peace talks. Senator Mitchell stayed on to lead the multi-party talks.
Your questions are answered by John Darby and Joseph Thompson. Dr. Darby is professor of ethnic studies at the University of Ulster, research director of the Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (INCORE) and a senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is the author of three books, "Scorpions in a Bottle," "Political Violence," and "Conflict in Northern Ireland." Dr. Thompson has been involved in Northern Ireland issues since 1979, when he was a Research Fellow at The Queen's University of Belfast. The following year the U.S. State Department appointed him a Scholar-Diplomat for Irish Affairs. He has visited IRA and Loyalist inmates in Northern Ireland prisons, assisted Irish nationalist candidates in West Belfast elections, and served as Rapporteur at several important government conferences.
Questions asked in this forum:
So who won in the peace talks? Will this improve relations between Catholic and Protestants? Will the deal really stop the violence? Will the different structures in the peace deal really work together? How will the release of political prisoners impact the stability in the region? How institutionalized have the "Troubles" become?
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