British, Irish Sign Historic Pact on Ulster

The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland entered into a historic agreement Friday to promote peace in Northern Ireland and to grant the Irish government a formal role in running the violence-torn province.

The pact triggered an immediate outbreak of violence. A 24-year-old Northern Ireland police officer was killed and another officer was wounded in a land mine explosion while on patrol near the Irish border. A police spokesman said the blast was detonated by remote control and timed for the arrival of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for the signing ceremony with her Irish counterpart, Garret FitzGerald.

The outlawed Irish Republican Army, one of the targets of the agreement, claimed responsibility for the blast.

The pact guarantees that Northern Ireland, or Ulster, will remain under British sovereignty unless a majority of its 1.6 million citizens decide otherwise.

This is the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921, with the six northern counties remaining under British rule, that both the Irish and British governments have committed themselves to promote peace in the troubled province.

As Thatcher and FitzGerald endorsed the accord at heavily guarded Hillsborough Castle, 10 miles south of Belfast, angry Protestants demonstrated nearby, chanting, “Sellout! Sellout!”

The Rev. Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, addressing a small gathering in the Hillsborough town square, pledged to destroy the agreement, which he called a conspiracy.

‘Joint Dublin-London Rule’

“It represents the end of Northern Ireland as we know it and is the beginning of joint Dublin-London rule,” he said.

Another Protestant leader, James Molyneaux, spoke of “the stench of treachery and betrayal in London.”

But the gathering of about 100 people was far short of the massive demonstration Paisley had predicted, and it broke up peacefully after demonstrators sang, “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past.”

Late Friday, Ulster’s two main Protestant parties called for a referendum on the agreement, declared a suspension of all contact with British government ministers and urged their members to boycott local government boards and agencies.

Protestant paramilitary groups announced they would not immediately oppose the accord in the streets but would await the impact of political measures.

Moderate Ulster Catholic leader John Hume hailed the agreement as an important first step toward peace in the province. However, Gerry Adams, head of the IRA’s legal political wing, Sinn Fein, declared that the accord would not stop his party’s campaign for British withdrawal from Ulster.

‘Serious, Solemn Agreement’

At a press conference following the signing, Thatcher called the pact “a serious and solemn agreement which signifies the way ahead in relations between our two countries and toward peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.”

Added FitzGerald: “There are no victors and no losers. If the agreement is implemented as envisioned, all the people of Northern Ireland will benefit.”

Both nations made major concessions. Britain granted another country a formal role in its internal affairs while the Irish Republic effectively postponed its aspirations for Irish unity.

The accord establishes an Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference to address political, security, judicial and economic affairs in the province. The body will seek ways to make Northern Ireland’s Roman Catholic minority “fully first-class citizens” of the province, as FitzGerald put it.

The agreement also stipulates the right of the Irish government to propose measures and be consulted on Northern Ireland issues, while assuring that full sovereignty in the province remains with Britain.

Yearlong Negotiations

Friday’s signing ceremony followed a year of delicate, low-keyed negotiations. The agreement will go into effect after it is ratified by the British and Irish parliaments, most likely within the next two weeks.

The agreement is aimed at isolating Catholic and Protestant extremists who have waged a campaign of violence over the past 16 years that has claimed nearly 2,500 lives, stunted economic development and disrupted normal life.

“We entered into this agreement to defeat men of violence and to bring peace and stability,” Thatcher said.

FitzGerald said: “Our purpose is to secure equal recognition for the two identities in Northern Ireland. Nationalists can now raise their heads knowing that their position is and is seen to be on an equal footing with the Unionist community.”

Catholics are known as nationalists because of their desire for unity with the Irish Republic, while Protestants, who advocate union with Britain, are called Unionists.

Catholic extremists, including the IRA, have used violence to challenge the domination of Ulster’s Protestants and achieve a united Ireland.

Catholic Disillusionment

In the past three years, a growing disillusionment among moderate Catholics has boosted support for extremists, raising fears both in Britain and Ireland. The province’s 900,000 Protestants, who make up about 60% of the population, have stiffly resisted any sharing of power, and extremist paramilitary groups have engaged in a countercampaign of violence.

To improve relations between Catholics and the security forces, staffed mainly by Protestants, the accord noted the possible establishment of local consultative machinery and called for police training in community relations.

The joint communique issued by the two leaders pledged that the newly created conference would consider new restrictions on the controversial Ulster Defense Regiment at its first meeting. Persistent allegations of brutality toward Cathoics has made the unit a major source of tension in the province.

To help alleviate Catholic mistrust of Ulster’s judiciary system, the agreement promises that the Anglo-Irish Conference will study how some aspects of criminal law from the republic could be integrated into Northern Ireland’s courts.

Responding to a newsman’s question, Thatcher also mentioned the possibility of placing judges from the republic with Northern Irish judges on so-called mixed courts.

Closer Police Cooperation

To increase pressure on the IRA and other extremist organizations operating on both sides of the border, the two countries pledged closer cooperation between their police forces.

To entice Protestant cooperation, the agreement calls for both governments to support greater provincial autonomy so long as it has the backing of both communities.