NEWS CENTER - The conflict in Northern Ireland ended with the 'power-sharing government model' implemented following negotiations. 

 

The historical roots of the Northern Ireland problem date back to the early 16th century. After the British began settling on the island, they started to include Catholics in their administration. This situation provoked reactions. 

 

The Irish Republican Army (IRA), founded in 1916, launched a struggle for independence. In 1922, the Republic of Ireland was established in the south of the island. The north of the island remained under British rule. 

 

In the 1960s, Catholic Irish people living in the North re-established the IRA with the aim of seceding from England and establishing a united Irish state.

 

On 5 October 1968, police intervention against a civil rights march in the Northern Irish city of Derry/Londonderry sparked protests. The violent suppression of growing protests in the country further deepened the division in the region. In 1972, 14 people were killed when shots were fired at demonstrators in the city of Londonderry. This event went down in history as "Bloody Sunday". 

 

The conflict then escalated further. As anger grew among Catholics, support for the IRA increased. That same year, the British government dissolved the Northern Ireland Assembly and introduced "direct rule". The Stormont Assembly became inoperative for the first time in 50 years.

 

In 1981, Northern Irish MP Bobby Sands died on hunger strike, and tens of thousands attended his funeral. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was elected MP in 1983. Following Prime Minister John Major's call for talks with the conflicting parties, the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1994. This development created a favourable environment for the start of the negotiation process. While the British government insisted on disarmament, the IRA viewed this as a post-negotiation issue. This disagreement resulted in the IRA unilaterally ending the ceasefire on 9 February 1996.

 

THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS 

 

The process was revived in May 1997 with Tony Blair becoming Prime Minister. Blair's more flexible approach and the IRA's renewed ceasefire declaration on 20 July 1997 accelerated the negotiation process. In 1997, Blair and Adams met at the Prime Minister's residence. 

 

After two years of intensive negotiations, the Belfast Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday). 

 

The main elements of the agreement were:

 

* The re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly

 

* Decisions in the Assembly to be taken with majority and minority support

 

* Parties representing the Catholic and Protestant communities to form a coalition government

 

* Ireland to renounce its territorial claim to Northern Ireland in its constitution

 

* The British government to accept that the status of Northern Ireland is subject to the consent of the people

 

* Establishment of a Human Rights Commission

 

* Establishment of an Equality Commission

 

* Completion of full disarmament within two years

 

* The agreement was put to simultaneous referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on 22 May 1998. The agreement was approved by 71.1 per cent of the vote in Northern Ireland (with 81 per cent turnout) and 94.4 per cent in the Republic of Ireland (with 56 per cent turnout). 

 

Following the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin announced that the IRA would begin disarming in May 2000. In October 2001, the IRA announced that it had begun disarmament. On 20 July 2005, the IRA announced that it had completely laid down its arms. The IRA did not surrender its weapons. The weapons were destroyed under the supervision of an independent commission. Thus, the conflict, which claimed the lives of approximately 3,600 people, officially came to an end.

 

In 2007, a joint government was established between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland emerged as an effective conflict resolution model, arguing that reconciliation could be achieved by recognising the existence of minority rights within the state. 

 

Tomorrow: The struggle of the Zapatistas

 

MA / Berivan Altan