Biden visits Ireland to promote peace, push for economic growth

Amna Nawaz:

Today, President Biden began a four-day tour of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by marking an anniversary; 25 years ago this week, parties in Northern Ireland ended decades of conflict known as the Troubles by signing the Good Friday Agreement.

But, as Nick Schifrin reports, President Biden arrived in the city of Belfast at a moment of political and economic uncertainty.

Joe Biden, President of the United States: Thank you for hosting us today on this beautiful campus.

Nick Schifrin:

In a university built near Belfast's former front line, President Biden today urged fractious politicians to once again defeat their divisions.

Joe Biden:

The enemies of peace will not prevail. Northern Ireland will not go back, pray God.

Nick Schifrin:

But, in Belfast, peace didn't end all violence. Just two days ago, dissident nationalists who want to reunite with the Republic of Ireland set fire to a British police car, violence the Good Friday Agreement was designed to end.

Fmr. Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME):

I'm pleased to announce that the two governments and the political parties of Northern Ireland have reached agreement.

(APPLAUSE)

Nick Schifrin:

Twenty-five years ago, with U.S. mediation, the British government and Northern Ireland's political parties ended 30 years of conflict known as the Troubles.

They were Europe's longest-running conflict after World War II. Members of the Irish Republican Army, mostly Catholic, fought to reunite with the Republic of Ireland, sometimes using terrorist attacks against British leaders and citizens. British soldiers and their mostly Protestant allies fought and sometimes killed to keep Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.

Today, some neighborhoods are still separated between mostly Catholic nationalists who want to reunite with Ireland and mostly Protestant Unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom. The divisions are also political. Pro-U.K. Unionist politicians refuse to reenter a power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland's assembly created by the Good Friday Agreement, because they fear Brexit erodes Northern Ireland's connection with Great Britain, and they see President Biden as pro-Irish.

Woman:

He is, Dan, the most partisan president there has ever been when dealing with Northern Ireland. He hates the United Kingdom. I don't think there's any doubt about that.

Nick Schifrin:

Biden's aides denied that today, but the political paralysis has left Northern Ireland's legislative and executive branch not functioning for more than a year.

Today, President Biden met with leaders of Northern Ireland's five political parties to urge compromise.

Joe Biden:

I hope that the Assembly and the executive will soon be restored. That's a judgment for you to make, not me, but I hope it happens.

Nick Schifrin:

Residents in Northern Ireland also hope it happens. Many say they don't have the economic or education opportunities that the Good Friday Agreement was designed to create.

Niamh McNutt, Student:

We do kind of need help right now and get things in order. And maybe this would actually give people the push that they need.

Nick Schifrin:

Today, President Biden was optimistic, that peace would produce prosperity.

Joe Biden:

The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together.

Nick Schifrin:

For more on President Biden's trip to Belfast, we turn to Duncan Morrow, a professor of politics at Ulster University, where President Biden spoke today.

He has written extensively about the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Thank you very much. Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Has the Good Friday Agreement led to the kind of peace that its signers hoped it would?

Duncan Morrow, Ulster University:

Probably not, to be honest.

I think, 25 years ago, hopes were higher that something more cooperative and collaborative would emerge. And we have been beset, actually, by persistent issues which have come up, not the least of which, of course, has been Brexit seven years ago. But, even before that, some of the issues about how we actually deal with some of the changes that need to happen here have always caused trouble.

At the same time, nobody's saying you should get rid of it, simply because the level of violence is so much less and life is so much easier for this generation.

Nick Schifrin:

So, let's go through some of those concerns.

As you said, the level of violence is much, much less, significantly so. And yet, at the top of the story, we did see some violence just from a few days ago. How often is that happening?

Duncan Morrow:

Well, some of the violence on your show certainly seems a bit performative. This is the 25th anniversary. This was their chance.

On the same level, though, in some communities, there's no doubt whatsoever that there are still paramilitary organizations. And we have really not been able to squeeze that down. Having said that, I suppose people would also point to the fact that policing in Northern Ireland is in a much better place, possibly one of our best successes in the course of the last 25 years.

So it's one of those not — it's not perfect, but could do better. And, nevertheless, there's always that risk for as long as those agencies still exist.

Nick Schifrin:

We also showed a wall that still divides a Catholic nationalist neighborhood and a Protestant Unionist neighborhood. Why do those walls still exist?

Duncan Morrow:

Well, communities grew up very much because they feared their neighbors. And I suppose, again, some of these armed groups emerged.

So taking a wall down is not just taking a wall dome. It's opening yourself up to those fears again. I think probably, I would say we have not made enough effort and put enough emphasis on taking the walls down and building communities where people can live together. And I think, if there has been a failure here, it has been the failure to really prioritize the policy is not just of saying goodbye to violence, but of constructing a better future.

Nick Schifrin:

You mentioned Brexit before. And, as we reported in the story, pro-U.K. Unionists are concerned that Brexit is eroding Northern Ireland's connection with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Why haven't those concerns been assuaged, despite an agreement between the U.K. and the E.U., known as the Windsor Framework that was designed to address those very concerns?

Duncan Morrow:

The first thing to say is that the Brexit crisis here has probably run already for seven years.

So, when you start to put that in perspective, that's a third of the time of the Good Friday Agreement. Second thing to say is that it put onto the table this question of, where do you put a border? But do you have a hard border in Ireland, which might regenerate some of those issues? And what they came to was, they would do a trade barrier between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Unionists have really not like that, the Protestant Unionists. The British and the government and the European Union have now finally negotiated out a settlement which takes away most of the practical issues. The Unionists are still saying they still feel that they are still in a different regime than the rest of Great Britain.

But they're now a very isolated within Northern Ireland politics. And what President Biden's visit said today was, they're very isolated in global affairs. So they really have a big choice. Do they continue with this boycott, or do they try to find a way back in, even though they're not that happy?

Nick Schifrin:

Explain that political significance of President Biden's trip today to Belfast. Could his trip at all end some of the political impasse?

Duncan Morrow:

I don't think anybody expects that President Biden's visits on its own will do.

What he has done is underline a number of things. First of all, America is actually a player here and is committed to what we call here the open border in Ireland. And his Irishness plays into that. But I also think he said there's a possibility of a greater push in investment. Joe Kennedy came here today with him.

Nick Schifrin:

His special envoy to Northern Ireland, who is supposed to pick up on some of the issues of trade and economic investment.

Duncan Morrow:

Absolutely.

And he's supposed to pick up on the issue that, because of this agreement, Northern Ireland is a place where you can export into the European Union and into Great Britain uniquely in Europe. And I suppose the third thing is, he said, we support this Windsor Framework.

And so, although he didn't push anybody particularly hard on politics, he made very clear, America is standing there. And that's a big consideration in the diplomatic world, particularly for the United Kingdom. So that does make a difference.

Nick Schifrin:

Today, after his visit to Belfast, President Biden visited the Republic of Ireland. He visited a castle to see the point from which his ancestor left and emigrated to the U.S.

As I mentioned before, the pro-U.K. Unionist Party in Northern Ireland called Biden today too Irish and anti-British. Is that fair?

Duncan Morrow:

No, I don't think it is fair.

I think he's definitely an Irish president. And I suppose that, emotionally, is certainly true. On the other side, President Biden is well aware of international diplomacy. He knows that Britain is very close to America in terms of the Ukraine crisis, so he won't go too far away from trying to balance those things.

But I suppose, for Unionists in Northern Ireland, they are aware this is a man who wears his green heart on his sleeves. And, for the Irish side, that's certainly been a bit of a boost. But that he has been a very biased present, I don't think that's fair.

Nick Schifrin:

Duncan Morrow, thank you very much.

Duncan Morrow:

You're welcome.