April 10, 1998
N.Ireland Agreement Reached
Filed at 12:50 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Heralding a new era of cooperation in a land
torn by national
allegiance and religion, politicians reached a comprehensive accord Friday on
governing
British-ruled Northern Ireland.
The breakthrough -- the biggest political development since conflict engulfed
Northern Ireland in
1969 -- capped a weeklong negotiating marathon driven by the American talks
chairman, George
Mitchell, and the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland, Tony Blair and
Bertie Ahern.
The announcement came on Good Friday, more than 17 hours past a midnight
deadline set by
Mitchell to force the pace in the negotiations, which began 22 months ago
after years of
preparation.
The British government said leaders of the eight participating parties
wouldn't be required to sign
the accord.
The agreement, subject to approval by voters in both parts of Ireland next
month, offers at least a
hope of ending a conflict that has claimed more than 3,400 lives in Northern
Ireland, the Irish
Republic and Britain.
The key points of this agreement, if implemented, will mean substantial
changes to relations
between Britain and the Republic of Ireland and especially to Northern
Ireland, where the two
nations' interests and identities have overlapped for decades.
Protestants and Catholics will be expected to govern their land of 1.6 million
people together in a
108-member assembly. That would end 26 years of ``direct rule'' from London,
instituted after the
British abolished a Protestant-dominated parliament that had governed Northern
Ireland since its
creation in 1921.
Critically, the new Belfast assembly will be expected to cooperate formally
with the Irish Republic
in a north-south council of lawmakers. This measure is considered essential to
win support from
the north's Catholics, who generally favor the unification of Ireland.
But the Protestant bloc appeared to have won a substantial concession, because
the Belfast
assembly will have the right to approve decisions taken by its members in the
cross-border council.
Catholics had pushed for the council to wield independent powers.
The IRA-allied Sinn Fein party -- brought into the talks eight months ago
following an Irish
Republican Army truce -- appears to have accepted the agreement, which stops
so far short of its
traditional goal of uniting Ireland.
Before the accord was announced, however, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he
would need
the formal approval of grass-roots members of the party.
The Ulster Unionists, Northern Ireland's main pro-British Protestant party,
also will face stern
opposition from Protestants who suspect that any settlement will concede too
much to those
seeking Irish unification.
The accord will have to be approved by majority votes next month in both
Northern Ireland and
the Irish Republic, where voters also will be asked to approve the softening
of their constitution's
territorial claim to Northern Ireland.
The agreement specified that the amended claim would emphasize the right of
people in either part
of Ireland to consider themselves Irish -- but that Ireland would be united
only when a clear
majority of people in Northern Ireland wants it to happen.
The constitution now claims the whole island and calls for ``reintegration of
the national territory.''
The agreement does not mean a certain end to shootings and bombings in
Northern Ireland, since
dissidents have already broken away from both the IRA and those pro-British
paramilitary groups
observing truces as a condition for participating in the talks.
In the case of the IRA, past truces have always triggered damaging splits
between pragmatists like
Adams and those determined to fight to the end against Britain and the north's
dwindling Protestant
majority.
President Clinton was up in the early hours Friday morning keeping tabs on the
talks, White House
spkesman Mike McCurry said. Clinton made telephone calls to Blair, Ahern,
Adams and
moderate Catholic leader John Hume, and also spoke to Mitchell during the
night, McCurry said.
---
ABCNEWS.com
B E L F A S T, Northern Ireland, April 10 On Good
Friday, negotiators have finally reached a peace
accord that could end 30 years of violence in
Northern Ireland.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair heralded the agreement
as a victory over Northern Irelands bloody past. But he
quickly pointed out that the agreement was only the first step
of a long process to the prize of peace.
Today is only the beginning, said Blair. The work to
win that prize goes on. We cannot, we must not let it slip
from our grasp.
Blair quickly outlined the main victories of the agreement,
citing the right of unionists to be British as long as the majority
in Northern Ireland chooses it and accepting the aspirations
of nationalists to unite Ireland.
Irish Prime Minister Berie Ahern followed Blair to the
podium and emphasized the need to leave Irelands bloody
history in the past.
Our shared past left us with many bitter legacies, said
Ahern. If the focus on these islands remains on the past, the
past will become the future, and that is something no one
desires.
As difficult as the negotations for the accord have been,
the tough work lies ahead. All the parties must now go to
their constituencies and convince them to vote for the accord
in a referendum in late May.
Deal a Result of Hard Negotiations
At daybreak, the eight
participating parties mapping
Northern Irelands future
received a revised draft
agreement, running 69 pages,
from Mitchell, who has overseen
the Belfast talks for 22
often-deadlocked months.
Mitchells call last month for
negotiators to reach a pact by
midnight Thursday has inspired
two weeks of intense
negotiations at Stormont, the
center of British administration in east Belfast.
Clinton Weighs in
President Bill Clinton held a series of telephone discussions
during the night with the parties involved in marathon talks on
a Northern Ireland peace deal, the White House said today.
Clinton had two conversations with Gerry Adams, leader
of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army,
to encourage him to agree to a peace agreement between
Catholics and Protestants on the British-ruled province.
Were at a very critical moment right now, said White
House spokesman Mike McCurry. It looks like things are
going well.
Making History
The leaders of Britain and Ireland held last-ditch talks with
local politicians aimed at sealing a historic deal for the British
province, site of one of the worlds most enduring guerrilla
conflicts.
If people concentrate and are as determined as we are,
then we can complete all of this work today, said Irish Prime
Minister Bertie Ahern, even as he conceded that stumbling
blocks remained.
A spokesman for Tony Blair said the British premier
sensed history in the making.
He feels that there is an irresistible force and an
immovable object and that the irresistible force will prevail,
said the aide. There is energy in there. There is a will...there
has been progress.
The Deal Can Still Be Done
Yet until the deadline concentrated minds, 21 months of
negotiations had produced little visible sign of progress
between pro-British and pro-Irish parties, whose constituents
have endured years of violence in the name of politics and
religion.
While officials stressed a deal was not a given, few could
contemplate heading into the long Easter weekend having
missed a once in a generation opportunity for peace. The
so-called Troubles have already claimed more than 3,200
lives and few can stomach the idea of more.
Its a cliff-hanger. Were waiting for someone to blink,
said one Irish nationalist at the talks.
John Alderdice, leader of the moderate Alliance Party,
told Reuters: Time is beginning to press somewhat and
weve quite a lot to get through ...But the deal can still be
done.
Even pro-British politician John Taylor, who vowed early
this week not to touch a draft deal with a 40-foot barge pole,
talked of a big breakthrough in the night.
Pressure Mounting on Trimble
Yet as Catholic and Protestant parties talked peace, the
threat of violencewhich has never fully left Northern Ireland
in 30 yearsresurfaced.
Police arrested two men and a woman after the discovery
of a small quantity of explosives in a staunchly pro-British
area of the eastern port of Larne.
Inside the talks, pressure mounted on David Trimble, the
Ulster Unionist leader who is pivotal in determining whether a
new accord can be reached with his Irish nationalist foes.
Trimble faced the toughest day of his career and had to
make a crucial judgment: whether any deal he signs will be
bought by his staunchly pro-British supporters.
Trimble missed a deadline to present his case to a meeting
of his 100-strong executive council in Belfast earlier today.
A talks participant who asked not to be identified said a
deal was now more likely than unlikely following significant
moves by Trimbles party in the night.
He would not elaborate.
On the Table in Belfast:
There has been no official news about the proposal being debated at Stormont
Castle, but sources tell ABCNEWS.com that the following points are probably
being negotiated:
New Northern Assembly
The proposal would call for an assembly to handle
governmental matters concerning Northern Ireland.
Republicans want it to have more power. Unionists want it to
have less.
Cross-Border Cooperation
The two sides agree on the need for a council to handle
concerns that traverse borders, such as roads,fisheries and
agriculture. They disagree on whether the council should be
subordinate to a Northern Ireland assembly (Unionists) or will
operate independently of that power-sharing body
(Republicans).
Political Prisoner Release and Paramilitary Disarmament
Amnesty for each sides political prisoners irks Unionists who
are unhappy with the sheer number of Republican prisoners
who would be sprung. Unionists also want more measures
guaranteeing the disarmament of paramilitary groups like the
Irish Republican Army.
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