In March 2011 the Northern Ireland power-sharing assembly, led by unionist and republican party elected representatives, completed one full term in office. Considering the tumultuous history of Northern Ireland, and that these parties have diametrically opposed views and have stood at polar ends of the political spectrum during the thirty years of violent conflict, this was certainly a momentous achievement.
The stable relationships built particularly between the leaders of the two largest governing parties and arch-rivals—the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein—was illustrated when Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister, described the two DUP first ministers he worked with as “friends”.
With the “democratic deficit” of direct rule from London replaced by a locally elected assembly, executive, and all-Ireland institutions, the four years from 2007 to 2011 were more about building relationships across the political divide, while parking difficult decisions if they looked likely to cause any significant upheaval.
Two years on and those relationships have been severely tested by the unionist and loyalist reaction to the democratic decision taken by the Belfast City Council last December to only fly the Union flag on designated days as opposed to 365 days a year. Nationalists had been pushing for the removal of the union flag over Belfast City Hall year-round. Unionists distributed thousands of leaflets in the Alliance party's distinctive yellow colour, pointing out that the cross-community party held the balance of power and inviting all those concerned to make their views known "respectfully" to Alliance offices.
When Alliance's suggested compromise of flying the union flag for just 18 designated days was passed by the council, there was nothing respectful about the reaction of the crowd of loyalists outside. There have been hundreds of protests since, and much of the associated street violence has set back community relations, damaged the local economy, and threatens to destabilise the power-sharing administration in Stormont, particularly if this summer’s upcoming ‘marching season’ gets out of control. Dissident armed Irish republicans—who are totally opposed to the existence of the Northern Ireland state and therefore the current peace process—are also determined to create more instability, and have attempted to attack police officers only for their efforts to be regularly thwarted by security forces.
Given the history of the region from 1921 to 1972, during which the Ulster Unionist Party ruled Northern Ireland consistently and exclusively in the interests of one section of the community, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 requires power-sharing between the two main communities based on proportional representation.
From 2007 to 2010 this resulted in a four party government: two unionist and two nationalist parties. However the DUP and Sinn Fein could not reach agreement on devolving policing and justice powers from London to Belfast, leading to a five month paralysis in the executive and ten days of talks that needed to be chaired by the British and Irish Prime Ministers. The issue was resolved when an agreement was reached to nominate and support the cross-community ‘Alliance Party’ as a compromise Justice Minister, thereby leading to a five-party coalition. Of course, the operation of this form of government automatically brings with it the perception and criticism that there is no real effective opposition. Nevertheless, on the last day of its first full four-year term in March 2011, the assembly passed their most ambitious legislation—the first justice bill in 40 years.
Indeed, the 2007 to 2011 assembly and executive certainly provided more effective governance than its 1998 predecessor. The assembly elected in 1998 was categorised by a series of both short-term and long-term suspensions amid acrimonious relationships between all the main parties of government. The assembly in fact remained suspended from October 2002 until May 2007, due to a stand-off between the two main unionist parties and Sinn Fein over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, strongly divergent views on the Good Friday Agreement itself (an agreement the DUP had opposed and were not signatories to), and Sinn Fein’s withholding of support for the new policing structures that emerged in 2002. With the DUP and Sinn Fein signing the St. Andrews’s Agreement of 2006, these issues were resolved and both parties committed themselves to power-sharing following the March 2007 Assembly elections. Indeed the 2007 to 2011 assembly that emerged went on to achieve agreement on budgets and programmes for government, worked together in passing legislation, and most importantly, was not once suspended during the four years.
Some of the most striking images during those four years included the remarkable sight of DUP founder, leader, passionate anti-Good Friday Agreement campaigner, and First Minister from 2007 to 2008, Ian Paisley regularly laughing out loud alongside his arch-enemy, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, a one-time IRA commander and the current Deputy First Minister. Indeed such was the jovial nature of their professional working relationship that Paisley and McGuinness were widely dubbed the “chuckle brothers”. Given Ian Paisley’s implacable opposition to any form of power-sharing with Sinn Fein prior to 2007, this new relaxed and very different approach was seismic. The 82 year old stood down as First Minister in June 2008 and was replaced by DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson.
The Irish peace process has had to deal with many challenges and face down threats by political and paramilitary opponents since its earliest beginnings in the 1990s. However in March 2009, it faced one of its toughest tests following the killing of two British Soldiers and a police officer by dissident republicans intent on thwarting the peace process and turning the clock back to violent conflict on the streets. In April 2011, another police officer was killed by dissident republicans. However, on both occasions Robinson and McGuinness displayed great courage and leadership, standing shoulder to shoulder with each other alongside the police chief constable, in strongly condemning the murders and reiterating their total commitment to the peace and political processes. Their message was very clear—your attempt to destroy the peace process will not work; indeed it will only serve to unite us even further as we continue to build a better future for all the people of Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, back within the assembly and executive itself, issues such as reform of local government, the post-primary transfer procedure, adjudication of controversial parades, and a shared future were shelved or left in chaos.
Nevertheless, the May 2011 assembly election was remarkable for the complete lack of animosity between the two main parties; both the DUP and Sinn Fein put all their energies into emphasising the effectiveness of the power-sharing administration in the previous four years. Both parties called for a renewed mandate to build upon the progress made to date, acknowledging, in Peter Robinson’s words, that the assembly had “much more to do”. Martin McGuinness said the next term would be about “making real decisions”. The majority of Northern Ireland’s voters clearly believed and supported this positive message, as both the DUP and Sinn Fein returned with increased mandates and assembly seats.
In July 2012, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister issued a statement detailing agreement on ten policy areas and promising further progress in the weeks and months ahead. However six months later only three pledges had been delivered. One policy area not delivered upon was the publication of the Cohesion, Sharing, and Integration Strategy (CSI). It has been speculated that had it not being for the controversy over the Union flag, CSI would have been published, the irony being that a government document about a shared future cannot be published because its contents may inflame tensions.
The lack of political unity between the DUP and Sinn Fein over the Union flag protests was a setback; Peter Robinson refused to hold a joint press conference alongside Martin McGuiness. The violence on the streets challenged the police, community, and political leaders. No doubt he was under pressure from his party and conscious of the reaction to such a show of political unity with unionism’s arch-enemy at a sensitive time. However, real political leadership in such a highly charged political atmosphere was needed.
The next decade there will mark a series of significant ‘centenary commemorations’ that both main traditions will be building up to—events that will mark the foundation of both the ‘Irish Free State’ and the state of ‘Northern Ireland’. This will inevitably involve parades and protests, and in a deeply divided society has always the potential to be destabilising. Various loyalists and republican groups opposed to the peace process will do their best to exploit what will already be a fairly volatile situation. All the parties involved in power-sharing in Stormont must absolutely commit to work constructively together and stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ in the face of such threats to the peace and political processes. With policing structures and political institutions under attack from minorities on both sides of the divide, the next three years will certainly be an acid test for community and political leaders of Northern Ireland, and nothing less than the future of the entire peace process could hinge on their collective ability to hold the line and live up to their previous public commitments.
John Currie lectures on the Northern Ireland Conflict to international audiences while also teaching Political Science and History at Grammar School level in Northern Ireland.
This article was originally published in the special annual G8 Summit 2013 edition and The Official ICC G20 Advisory Group Publication. Published with permission.
Photo: Joshua Hayes (cc).
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Northern Ireland: On the Brink of a Dangerous 'Marching Season'
July 8, 2013
In March 2011 the Northern Ireland power-sharing assembly, led by unionist and republican party elected representatives, completed one full term in office. Considering the tumultuous history of Northern Ireland, and that these parties have diametrically opposed views and have stood at polar ends of the political spectrum during the thirty years of violent conflict, this was certainly a momentous achievement.
The stable relationships built particularly between the leaders of the two largest governing parties and arch-rivals—the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein—was illustrated when Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister, described the two DUP first ministers he worked with as “friends”.
With the “democratic deficit” of direct rule from London replaced by a locally elected assembly, executive, and all-Ireland institutions, the four years from 2007 to 2011 were more about building relationships across the political divide, while parking difficult decisions if they looked likely to cause any significant upheaval.
Two years on and those relationships have been severely tested by the unionist and loyalist reaction to the democratic decision taken by the Belfast City Council last December to only fly the Union flag on designated days as opposed to 365 days a year. Nationalists had been pushing for the removal of the union flag over Belfast City Hall year-round. Unionists distributed thousands of leaflets in the Alliance party's distinctive yellow colour, pointing out that the cross-community party held the balance of power and inviting all those concerned to make their views known "respectfully" to Alliance offices.
When Alliance's suggested compromise of flying the union flag for just 18 designated days was passed by the council, there was nothing respectful about the reaction of the crowd of loyalists outside. There have been hundreds of protests since, and much of the associated street violence has set back community relations, damaged the local economy, and threatens to destabilise the power-sharing administration in Stormont, particularly if this summer’s upcoming ‘marching season’ gets out of control. Dissident armed Irish republicans—who are totally opposed to the existence of the Northern Ireland state and therefore the current peace process—are also determined to create more instability, and have attempted to attack police officers only for their efforts to be regularly thwarted by security forces.
Given the history of the region from 1921 to 1972, during which the Ulster Unionist Party ruled Northern Ireland consistently and exclusively in the interests of one section of the community, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 requires power-sharing between the two main communities based on proportional representation.
From 2007 to 2010 this resulted in a four party government: two unionist and two nationalist parties. However the DUP and Sinn Fein could not reach agreement on devolving policing and justice powers from London to Belfast, leading to a five month paralysis in the executive and ten days of talks that needed to be chaired by the British and Irish Prime Ministers. The issue was resolved when an agreement was reached to nominate and support the cross-community ‘Alliance Party’ as a compromise Justice Minister, thereby leading to a five-party coalition. Of course, the operation of this form of government automatically brings with it the perception and criticism that there is no real effective opposition. Nevertheless, on the last day of its first full four-year term in March 2011, the assembly passed their most ambitious legislation—the first justice bill in 40 years.
Indeed, the 2007 to 2011 assembly and executive certainly provided more effective governance than its 1998 predecessor. The assembly elected in 1998 was categorised by a series of both short-term and long-term suspensions amid acrimonious relationships between all the main parties of government. The assembly in fact remained suspended from October 2002 until May 2007, due to a stand-off between the two main unionist parties and Sinn Fein over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, strongly divergent views on the Good Friday Agreement itself (an agreement the DUP had opposed and were not signatories to), and Sinn Fein’s withholding of support for the new policing structures that emerged in 2002. With the DUP and Sinn Fein signing the St. Andrews’s Agreement of 2006, these issues were resolved and both parties committed themselves to power-sharing following the March 2007 Assembly elections. Indeed the 2007 to 2011 assembly that emerged went on to achieve agreement on budgets and programmes for government, worked together in passing legislation, and most importantly, was not once suspended during the four years.
Some of the most striking images during those four years included the remarkable sight of DUP founder, leader, passionate anti-Good Friday Agreement campaigner, and First Minister from 2007 to 2008, Ian Paisley regularly laughing out loud alongside his arch-enemy, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, a one-time IRA commander and the current Deputy First Minister. Indeed such was the jovial nature of their professional working relationship that Paisley and McGuinness were widely dubbed the “chuckle brothers”. Given Ian Paisley’s implacable opposition to any form of power-sharing with Sinn Fein prior to 2007, this new relaxed and very different approach was seismic. The 82 year old stood down as First Minister in June 2008 and was replaced by DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson.
The Irish peace process has had to deal with many challenges and face down threats by political and paramilitary opponents since its earliest beginnings in the 1990s. However in March 2009, it faced one of its toughest tests following the killing of two British Soldiers and a police officer by dissident republicans intent on thwarting the peace process and turning the clock back to violent conflict on the streets. In April 2011, another police officer was killed by dissident republicans. However, on both occasions Robinson and McGuinness displayed great courage and leadership, standing shoulder to shoulder with each other alongside the police chief constable, in strongly condemning the murders and reiterating their total commitment to the peace and political processes. Their message was very clear—your attempt to destroy the peace process will not work; indeed it will only serve to unite us even further as we continue to build a better future for all the people of Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, back within the assembly and executive itself, issues such as reform of local government, the post-primary transfer procedure, adjudication of controversial parades, and a shared future were shelved or left in chaos.
Nevertheless, the May 2011 assembly election was remarkable for the complete lack of animosity between the two main parties; both the DUP and Sinn Fein put all their energies into emphasising the effectiveness of the power-sharing administration in the previous four years. Both parties called for a renewed mandate to build upon the progress made to date, acknowledging, in Peter Robinson’s words, that the assembly had “much more to do”. Martin McGuinness said the next term would be about “making real decisions”. The majority of Northern Ireland’s voters clearly believed and supported this positive message, as both the DUP and Sinn Fein returned with increased mandates and assembly seats.
In July 2012, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister issued a statement detailing agreement on ten policy areas and promising further progress in the weeks and months ahead. However six months later only three pledges had been delivered. One policy area not delivered upon was the publication of the Cohesion, Sharing, and Integration Strategy (CSI). It has been speculated that had it not being for the controversy over the Union flag, CSI would have been published, the irony being that a government document about a shared future cannot be published because its contents may inflame tensions.
The lack of political unity between the DUP and Sinn Fein over the Union flag protests was a setback; Peter Robinson refused to hold a joint press conference alongside Martin McGuiness. The violence on the streets challenged the police, community, and political leaders. No doubt he was under pressure from his party and conscious of the reaction to such a show of political unity with unionism’s arch-enemy at a sensitive time. However, real political leadership in such a highly charged political atmosphere was needed.
The next decade there will mark a series of significant ‘centenary commemorations’ that both main traditions will be building up to—events that will mark the foundation of both the ‘Irish Free State’ and the state of ‘Northern Ireland’. This will inevitably involve parades and protests, and in a deeply divided society has always the potential to be destabilising. Various loyalists and republican groups opposed to the peace process will do their best to exploit what will already be a fairly volatile situation. All the parties involved in power-sharing in Stormont must absolutely commit to work constructively together and stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ in the face of such threats to the peace and political processes. With policing structures and political institutions under attack from minorities on both sides of the divide, the next three years will certainly be an acid test for community and political leaders of Northern Ireland, and nothing less than the future of the entire peace process could hinge on their collective ability to hold the line and live up to their previous public commitments.
John Currie lectures on the Northern Ireland Conflict to international audiences while also teaching Political Science and History at Grammar School level in Northern Ireland.
This article was originally published in the special annual G8 Summit 2013 edition and The Official ICC G20 Advisory Group Publication. Published with permission.
Photo: Joshua Hayes (cc).
