Status: 04/10/2023 8:09 p.m
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. The security situation is tense. In Londonderry, pro-Irish protesters threw incendiary devices at a police car.
In Northern Ireland, participants in an unregistered march attacked a police car. In Londonderry, which is only called Derry by the Catholic-Republican part of the population, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a van, a police spokesman said. Flames could be seen around the vehicle. Nobody got hurt. Members of Republican splinter groups had gathered for the march.
In the past few days, the Northern Irish police had already warned of attacks on police officers on April 10th. The British security authorities raised the terror alert level in the province to “serious”. Northern Ireland Minister Chris Heaton-Harris warned in the Sunday Telegraph that a “small number of people want to throw us all back to the dark old days”.
30 years of civil war
Northern Ireland commemorated today the end of decades of civil war 25 years ago with the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998. The peace pact ended a three-decade conflict between pro-Irish, mostly Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists. While Catholics fought for Northern Ireland’s independence from the UK and reunification with the Republic of Ireland, Unionists fought for affiliation with the British Crown. About 3,700 people lost their lives during the civil war. More than 47,000 were injured.
The Good Friday Agreement was considered a milestone at the time. This was followed by lengthy negotiations between the governments in London and Dublin, moderated by the USA. The 25th anniversary of the agreement falls on Easter Monday this year, which is considered a traditional protest day for the republican camp anyway – based on the Easter uprising of Irish republicans in 1916, with which they wanted to force Ireland’s independence from Great Britain.
Windsor Protocol aims to ease tensions
Brexit and the resulting problems with borders and tariffs recently provided new fuel for the old conflict. After Great Britain and the European Union negotiated the so-called Windsor Protocol in February, which regulates customs and trade conditions with the EU, there is now hope that the conflict will not flare up again.
However, the UK-friendly DUP has so far refused to approve the agreement. The party has been boycotting the Northern Irish Parliament for 14 months. According to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the governments in Dublin, London and Belfast are working to ensure that the Windsor Protocol can come into force within the next few months.
Biden and Sunak in Northern Ireland
US President Joe Biden is expected in Belfast on Tuesday evening to join British Prime Minister Rishni Sunak in honoring the peace agreement and the progress made since then. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will highlight the extraordinary progress made since the Good Friday Agreement was finalized. Biden, who has Irish roots himself, also wanted to show that the United States was ready to support the “huge economic potential of Northern Ireland” so that all communities could benefit.
Speaking at today’s commemoration, Sunak said that while it is time to appreciate the solid progress made by all parties together, all must recommit and pledge to continue to deliver on the promises of the Good Friday Agreement. “As we look ahead, we celebrate those who made tough decisions, accepted compromises and showed leadership,” Sunak said.