'New dawn' for N Ireland
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
b>Former arch-foes sworn in to share power and restore self-rule
NORTHERN Ireland entered a new era yesterday as former Protestant and Catholic arch-foes were sworn in to share power and restore self-rule in the long-troubled province.
Veteran Protestant leader Ian Paisley, Northern Ireland's new First Minister, said there was a real chance for "lasting peace" as he took office with former Catholic militant Martin McGuinness as his deputy.
"Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace. A time when hate will no longer rule," said the firebrand clergyman of the Democratic Unionists (DUP). "How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in this province."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who hopes the Northern Ireland deal will form a key part of his legacy as he prepares to stand down, said the "chains of history" were being cast off.
"Look back and we see centuries pockmarked by conflict, hardship, even hatred among the peoples of these islands," he said. "Look forward today and we see the chance at last to escape those heavy chains of history."
London and Dublin hope the autonomous administration will bring permanent peace and stability to Northern Ireland, a British-ruled province where more than 3,000 people have been killed in sectarian violence since the late 1960s.
Sinn Fein, backed by the militant Irish Republican Army (IRA), has for decades pressed for Northern Ireland to be re-united with the Irish Republic, while unionists insist the province remain a part of the United Kingdom.
The violence largely ended after the 1998 Good Friday peace deal, but efforts for a permanent settlement stalled when power-sharing was suspended in October 2002 over charges that the Catholic nationalists were spying.
Those efforts were revived by Blair and Ahern last November in the Scottish town of Saint Andrews, where a deal was brokered to restart power-sharing in March.
The real breakthrough came on March 26, when Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams finally agreed to share power, albeit with a six-week delay, taking them to yesterday's historic inauguration.
Under the power-sharing deal, the DUP will hold four ministries, Sinn Fein three, the Ulster Unionists (UUP — moderate Protestant conservatives) two, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP — Catholic, moderate) one.
Economic development is seen as crucial if self-rule is to succeed, and British Chancellor Gordon Brown — likely to succeed Blair with in the next two months — has vowed a package of £51 billion over the next 10 years.
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said yesterday's event would open a new era in the province's history. "It really is a new dawn," Hain said.
Ireland's Bertie Ahern underlined the need for the power-sharing deal to work. "As we step from this place of history, we must be resolved that this should be the last generation on these islands to feel the anger and pain of old quarrels," he said.
Sinn Fein deputy leader McGuinness — a former IRA commander, was more cautious than some, while celebrating the power-sharing deal.
"We know this will not be easy and the road we have embarked upon will have many twists and turns," said McGuinness, who did not shake hands — in public at least — with Paisley.
Yesterday's ceremony will also allow Blair to resign on a high note as Britain's prime minister and leader of the Labour Party after 10 years in power.
Meanwhile Ahern — who faces a tough May 24 general election — could also do with a dose of reflected glory.
AFP
NORTHERN Ireland entered a new era yesterday as former Protestant and Catholic arch-foes were sworn in to share power and restore self-rule in the long-troubled province.
Veteran Protestant leader Ian Paisley, Northern Ireland's new First Minister, said there was a real chance for "lasting peace" as he took office with former Catholic militant Martin McGuinness as his deputy.
"Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace. A time when hate will no longer rule," said the firebrand clergyman of the Democratic Unionists (DUP). "How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in this province."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who hopes the Northern Ireland deal will form a key part of his legacy as he prepares to stand down, said the "chains of history" were being cast off.
"Look back and we see centuries pockmarked by conflict, hardship, even hatred among the peoples of these islands," he said. "Look forward today and we see the chance at last to escape those heavy chains of history."
London and Dublin hope the autonomous administration will bring permanent peace and stability to Northern Ireland, a British-ruled province where more than 3,000 people have been killed in sectarian violence since the late 1960s.
Sinn Fein, backed by the militant Irish Republican Army (IRA), has for decades pressed for Northern Ireland to be re-united with the Irish Republic, while unionists insist the province remain a part of the United Kingdom.
The violence largely ended after the 1998 Good Friday peace deal, but efforts for a permanent settlement stalled when power-sharing was suspended in October 2002 over charges that the Catholic nationalists were spying.
Those efforts were revived by Blair and Ahern last November in the Scottish town of Saint Andrews, where a deal was brokered to restart power-sharing in March.
The real breakthrough came on March 26, when Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams finally agreed to share power, albeit with a six-week delay, taking them to yesterday's historic inauguration.
Under the power-sharing deal, the DUP will hold four ministries, Sinn Fein three, the Ulster Unionists (UUP — moderate Protestant conservatives) two, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP — Catholic, moderate) one.
Economic development is seen as crucial if self-rule is to succeed, and British Chancellor Gordon Brown — likely to succeed Blair with in the next two months — has vowed a package of £51 billion over the next 10 years.
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said yesterday's event would open a new era in the province's history. "It really is a new dawn," Hain said.
Ireland's Bertie Ahern underlined the need for the power-sharing deal to work. "As we step from this place of history, we must be resolved that this should be the last generation on these islands to feel the anger and pain of old quarrels," he said.
Sinn Fein deputy leader McGuinness — a former IRA commander, was more cautious than some, while celebrating the power-sharing deal.
"We know this will not be easy and the road we have embarked upon will have many twists and turns," said McGuinness, who did not shake hands — in public at least — with Paisley.
Yesterday's ceremony will also allow Blair to resign on a high note as Britain's prime minister and leader of the Labour Party after 10 years in power.
Meanwhile Ahern — who faces a tough May 24 general election — could also do with a dose of reflected glory.
AFP
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