Northern Ireland

Date: June 19th, 2002 |

Garvaghy Road in Portadown became a flashpoint of sectarian violence once again when youths from the Protestant Orange Order marched into a Catholic neighborhood May 29. Police attempting to keep the groups separated were hit by bricks from both sides but succeeded in keeping injuries to a minimum. Garvaghy Road has been the site of [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: May 13th, 2002 |

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The deadline for convening a provincial government including parties from all sides of the political divide has been extended to April 2, Good Friday, because of disagreements about IRA disarmament. Tension has been growing in recent weeks and bombings, riots, and the assassination of a Catholic human rights lawyer have occurred. Protestant marching season, which [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: November 6th, 2001 |

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After months of uncertainty some good news has finally come out of Northern Ireland: the IRA finally complied with the terms of the Good Friday peace agreement and disposed of some of its weapons, allowing Protestant leader David Trimble to regain his post as first minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The move should get [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: August 14th, 2001 |

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The dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly Feb. 11 threw the entire peace process into uncertainty. Recriminations have flown back and forth, but thus far neither the IRA nor loyalist paramilitaries have threatened to resume violence. Efforts are being made to get the plan back on track, but until it is, the political climate in [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: August 1st, 2001 |

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The peace process is back on track. On May 27 the Ulster Unionist party voted to resume sharing power with Sinn Fein in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The provincial government, a product of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, was formed in December but suspended in February over disputes about IRA di [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: June 11th, 2002 |

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Paramilitaries on both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict have been orchestrating recent unrest in East Belfast and other areas of the city, with outbreaks occurring along the “peace wall” in Short Strand and in South Belfast’s Donegall Pass area. The peace wall is designed to separate the Protestant loyalist community from Catholic areas, and [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: April 9th, 2002 |

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The IRA decommissioned more weapons in a move that represents progress toward a lasting peace, although Protestant “loyalists” dismissed the move as political posturing. Despite such accusations, decommissioning has been the main stumbling block to peace all along, so this action can only help. Loyalist paramilitaries were behind three nights of riots in North Belfast [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: September 25th, 2001 |

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Amid hopes that the IRA would comply with the terms of the Good Friday peace agreement and begin disarming, Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid used a legal loophole for the second time to extend the deadline for the election of a new Protestant leader of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The move gives the four-party [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: August 7th, 2001 |

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The deadline for saving the Good Friday Accord is Aug. 12, and in the face of a take-it-or-leave-it proposal from Britain and Ireland, the IRA announced a method to decommission its weapons. The issue of disarmament is the principal obstacle to preserving the power sharing arrangement in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Protestants have resisted IRA [read more]

Northern Ireland

Date: July 30th, 2001 |

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Protestant marching season has brought with it significant unrest in Belfast and other cities. The parades peak in mid-July, but other observances continue through the summer. Follow local press reports for planned events and potential trouble areas; consider avoiding Derry Aug. 12 when the Apprentice Boys hold their annual march around the city, an event [read more]