"Steve Wright" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
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Saturday April 11 8:51 AM EDT
Applause and Caution Greet N.Ireland Deal
By Elaine Monaghan
BELFAST (Reuters) - The world applauded Northern Ireland's hard-won peace
pact Saturday but the man who brokered the deal said tough times lay ahead.
"It's a significant accomplishment but I don't think anyone should be under
the illusion that the problems of Northern Ireland have been solved with
this act. There's a long way to go," U.S. talks chairman George Mitchell
said hours after the historic pact was clinched.
Catholic and Protestant leaders from the divided province wrapped up
marathon talks Friday with a finely tuned document that preserves links with
Britain while building closer ties with Ireland.
It signals the biggest change in Northern Ireland's political status since
the island of Ireland was partitioned in 1921 and aims to end three decades
of conflict that have claimed more than 3,200 lives.
"A careful analysis of the situation will demonstrate rather clearly that
this is the best alternative, that there really isn't an alternative,"
Mitchell told BBC radio in remarks aired Saturday.
"It's the best choice for a long time to come."
His was not the only cautious voice.
The Ulster Unionists' 110-member executive was meeting to give the agreement
its first real test Saturday.
One member, William Ross, openly rejected the pact in a series of
interviews, signaling splits yet to come.
"It is a surrender to a whole wish list of IRA demands," Ross said. "It is
certainly not accepted or acceptable to me and I don't believe it's a peace
deal."
A leading light of the party, Jeffrey Donaldson, was worried about proposals
to reform police and release most prisoners within two years, party sources
said.
There was also speculation that party leader David Trimble may not last in
the job, with up to half of executive members reportedly opposed to the
pact.
"We are like the scorned lady in the house. Trimble's position is becoming
more and more untenable," said parliamentarian William Thompson.
But the party's deputy leader, John Taylor, entered the meeting saying a
majority would back the deal, while a clutch of loyalists waved banners
outside, urging members to "Support Trimble's brave decision. Peace for
all."
The deal must be approved by a majority of people in both Northern Ireland
and the southern Republic of Ireland, in simultaneous referendums next
month.
The second biggest Protestant unionist party has already started campaigning
against it, and there is a risk that splinter guerrilla groups on both sides
will step up shootings and bombings to try and wreck the deal.
In the Irish Republic, the government will have to convince voters to give
up its claim on the north, enshrined in Dublin's constitution since 1921.
Sinn Fein, political wing of the outlawed Irish Republican Army (IRA) that
fought against British rule, declared that the accord would not end its long
struggle to unify all Irish people in one republic, a goal rejected by its
Protestant rivals.
Under the deal, Northern Ireland will remain part of the United Kingdom
unless majorities north and south of the Irish border choose unity.
A 108-seat assembly will be elected with a 12-member cabinet and there will
be new bodies to build links between north and south and between Britain and
Ireland.
President Clinton, who intervened repeatedly by phone to clear last-minute
hitches, pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with those seeking peace.
The Vatican said the accord honored all Europe.
"We give thanks for the peace in Northern Ireland, which honors our Europe,"
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said on Italian state
television RAI.
Pope John Paul has often appealed for an end to sectarian violence in
Northern Ireland.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard congratulated the peace brokers,
saying: "This historic achievement holds out the prospect for an end to the
bitter sectarian strife which has divided and afflicted the people of
Northern Ireland for so many decades."
South African President Nelson Mandela said the deal "once again
demonstrated the value of negotiation and consultation rather than
confrontation and upheaval."
Middle Eastern leaders hoped it would propel peace in their region, while
French Socialist Jack Lang suggested the lead negotiators should share a
Nobel Peace Prize.
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Lifes a beach and I'm on it, Jah Wobble.
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