• The long shadow of the return of violence in Northern Ireland, 25 years later
  • Michelle O'Neill interview: "London has left Northern Ireland in limbo"

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged unionists to accept a compromise for the formation of a government in Northern Ireland, amid scenes of violence on the streets of Derry at the hands of dissident republicans who threw Molotov cocktails at police. The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement coincided with the celebrations of the 1916 Easter Rising in Catholic neighborhoods.

More than 300 police arrived as reinforcements from other parts of the United Kingdom to join the security operation in Derry, where a plot to attack during the visit of US President Joe Biden has allegedly been dismantled. The throwing of incendiary objects at police occurred in the Creggan neighborhood, where journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead in 2019 by a dissident.

The recent shooting in Omagh of Detective John Caldwell, seriously wounded in the eyes of his own son, has resurrected the specter of violence in the run-up to the anniversary. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, has acknowledged that the recent terrorist alert demonstrates "the fragility of peace in Northern Ireland".

In an article in The Daily Telegraph, Heaton-Harris says the Good Friday Agreement "cannot be taken for granted" and warns against "the intentions of a small group of people who want to take us back to the dark days." The outbreaks of violence in Derry occurred during the parade with hooded militants backed by the Saoradh party, considered the political arm of the New IRA, which since 2012 has grouped dissident groups that do not accept the peace process.

Northern Ireland celebrates in any case the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement without a unity government, due to the disagreement between unionists and republicans, in the midst of a political paralysis that has lasted almost a year and with the maximum alert against possible terrorist attacks.

Rishi Sunak used the occasion to urge local politicians to show "the leadership, courage, perseverance and imagination" that made the Good Friday Peace Agreement possible. "There is a lot of work on the part of the new generation of politicians and we must revive the Stormont Assembly as soon as possible," said the Conservative leader, a day before Biden's arrival in Belfast to celebrate "the tremendous progress" since the signing of the historic agreement in the last 25 years.

The recent tensions are largely due to the impact of Brexit and the political vacuum that has existed since May 2022, when Sinn Fèin first won the election and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to form a "power-sharing" government, as stipulated in the Good Friday agreement.

"These groups have been committing terrorist attacks for years and continue to do so whether or not there is a government," Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP, excused himself this week, in direct reference to the actions of the New IRA. The DUP was certainly the only major party not to sign the peace agreement after three decades of conflict that caused more than 3,500 deaths.

"There were very significant flaws in the agreement, which did not protect the rights of victims and survivors, and nevertheless gave a preferential plot to the paramilitaries," Donaldson alleges at the time of justifying his position. "We were also concerned about the seizure of weapons and the disbanding of the Royal Uslter Police (RUC).

The DUP, currently the second political force in Northern Ireland, is however in a position of total isolation, refusing to accept the Windsor Agreement reached by Rishi Sunak with Brussels to end the "frictions" caused by the Irish Protocol. The main unionist party believes that not all customs barriers have been removed and that Northern Ireland remains under the legislative orbit of Brussels.

From Dublin, Sinn Fèin president Mary Lou McDonald accused the DUP of "boycotting" the peace deal and forming a unity government hypothetically led by Michelle O'Neill, local leader of the Republican Party. McDonald also blamed unionists for the paralysis of institutions in Ulster, which has led President Biden to suspend his anticipated visit to the Stormont Assembly. For 9 of the last 25 years (four in the last decade) Northern Ireland has been without a government due to the lack of understanding between unionists and republicans.

"As we look ahead, we will celebrate those who made difficult decisions and accepted a compromise," Rishi Sunak said on Monday, referring very directly to David Trimble (leader in 1998 of the Ulster Unionist Party, UPP) and John Hume (leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP), architects of the Good Friday agreement, Nobel Peace Prize winners and recently deceased.

"We are commemorating those who are no longer with us and those who lost their lives trying to prevent violence and protect the innocent," said Sunak, who will host Joe Biden in Belfast on Tuesday. "We thank them as we reflect on the new generations who have believed and will continue to grow in a world where peace and prosperity must prevail."

Sunak will alternate the bilateral meeting with Joe Biden with possible meetings with political forces to try to unblock the situation and achieve the formation of a unity government. The British Government has successively pushed back the deadline for reaching an agreement and avoiding early elections.

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