Lesson 7 - The Peace Process
The Peace Process refers to a series of events that has led to peace in Northern Ireland between political parties and an ending of violence between Republicans and Loyalists, including the ceasefire form the IRS in 1994 and The Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
Research the main events of the peace process. http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/northern-ireland-peace-process
Identify some of the key figures and parties in bringing about peace. Was this challenged?
In the blog posts publish your opinion to the question 'How successful was the peace process?'
Consider current landscape, the orange marches, life in Northern Ireland etc in your response.
Identify some of the key figures and parties in bringing about peace. Was this challenged?
ReplyDeleteThe IRA intensified its London bombing campaign, the loyalist paramilitaries responded by stepping up its campaign. After events such as the Warrington Bomb attacks or the Enniskillen bombing.
In 1994 the IRA carried on killing policemen, whilst the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters) carried on the killings of Catholics in even greater numbers. Amidst the horror, peace was still being talked about. But its beginning finally came about when the IRA announced its long-awaited ceasefire with ‘a complete cessation of military operations’. There were celebrations in Republican heartlands with Sinn Fein claiming the IRA was ‘undefeated’ but the word ‘victory’ was notably absent.
'How successful was the peace process?'
The peace process was successful to a certain extent as it was a short term fix to the century of rebellions and terror in Ireland and the United Kingdom, however it did not solve and diminish the long term issues. The main success of this initiative were that many terrorist organisations including Sinn Fein and the IRA agreed to a complete cease-fire in the result that would allow them to partake in talks to end the violence between parties forever. This meant that after the Good Friday Agreement was put into play terrorism greatly reduced and the referendum of May 22nd 1998 showed a united agreement; 94% acceptance in the South and 71% in the North. For the first time in years the south and north appeared to begin to communicate and co-operate with one another.
On the other hand, there is evidence to suggest that the peace process did not result in complete success. According to the 2012 Home Office (18years after the Good Friday Agreement) terror threat levels in Northern Ireland was still at severe and in the UK it was substantial. There are continuing reports of new terrorist groups being formed to replace the IRA, the general consensus appears to be that if reunification were ever to take place, it would only do so by political means and with the consent of all Irish people. Therefore, the peace process had limited success.
There has been a strong division in Northern Ireland into Nationalists and Unionists and has been a source of harsh violence over the years. Ever since the split from Ireland in the 1920’s and campaigns towards absolute Irish Independence from the UK in the 30’s and 40’s. The Unionists support the British status in Northern Ireland while Nationalists are the opposite, they want Northern Ireland to be a part of the Irish Republic. A number of unsuccessful attempts have been made to restore peace and the government. These attempts were made between the outbreak of The Troubles in 1969 and the Irish Republican Army’s declaration of a ceasefire in August 1994. Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, the British Government went into talks with Sinn Fein, whose main objective was to end British Rule in Ireland. Other groups involved in the talks were the Progressive Unionist Party, Ulster Democratic Party, Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Ulster Volunteer Force. The IRA’s Canary Wharf bombing in February 1996, Sinn Fein was excluded from talks. The next year the IRA renewed its ceasefire and Sinn Fein was readmitted causing Unionist Parties to withdraw. The Good Friday agreement was signed on April 10th 1998, and approved by the people of Northern Ireland in a referendum in May. The agreement said that Northern Ireland should remain within the UK so long as that was the wish of the people there, but that British and Irish governments would give arrangements for a United Ireland if that should become the wish of the people. This agreement also involved proposals for devolved government. The Northern Ireland Assembly was established by the Northern Ireland Elections Act in 1998 and met for the 1st time in June that year. However, in October 2002 the NI secretary John Reid suspended the assembly following allegations that an IRA spy ring was operating within the government in Belfast. The Ulster Unionist Party threatened to pull out if Sinn Fein were not expelled from the administration, before this the assembly had been suspended 3 times because of unionist parties. The Devolved Power was eventually restored to the assembly on May 8th 2007 after a power-sharing agreement between Sinn Fein and the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party).
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