It consists of three strands. Strand One deals with the internal arrangement of N.I, and includes a 108 member assembly voted in by PR, and an Executive Committee consisting of 12 members. Strand Two is a North/South ministerial council, and Strand Three is a Council of the Isles, which is made up of representatives from N.I, the Rep. of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. Other areas include the accelerated release of paramilitary prisoners, reform of the Police force (the Royal Ulster Constabulary), and although not written down in the document, there was an expectance of decommissioning at some point
It’s over five years since the republicans and loyalists, nationalists and unionists all signed up to the peace deal which was meant to take Northern Ireland into a new era. By now it should have been implemented in all areas, but some may argue it has not worked out that way, and that there has been very little progress.
One of the main problems attributing to the lack of real progress appears to be that the IRA holds onto pretty much all of its weapons. Decommissioning remains as uncertain as ever. The IRA is far too powerful in the peace process, and Unionist, won’t concede anymore without the IRA giving up some of its weapons first. The Democratic Unionist Party even go as far as to condemn The UUP for entering into talks with terrorists, and as the GFA didn’t directly deal with decommissioning, no real action has been made towards it. Whenever the IRA does make any statements regarding the matter the UUP can be very dismissive. There are still groups in N.I which are still committed to terrorism, so how can the GFA have been a success?
Prior to the Northern Ireland assembly collapsing, (arguably the biggest failure in the process so far) anti-agreement unionists, led by Ian Paisley leader of the Democratic Unionist Party described the 2001 elections to the assembly as a “second referendum.” What he was referring to was the choice Unionist voters had to make between the pro agreement UUP party and his own anti agreement party, the DUP. Rather worryingly, for those who support the peace process, he made a huge gain on them, and this was also reflected by nationalists where Sinn Fein took votes from the SDLP. Another split was exposed in David Trimble’s party when an anti agreement faction emerged. The leading parties must be united for there to be a chance of success, and as things stand, they aren’t.
The new police service, which came into effect, has been deemed unacceptable to Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). It was enough to prompt Sinn Fein's chairman Mitchell McLaughlin to call for a "reconfiguration" of the Agreement. Some new Catholic recruits have been the target of attack from dissident republican groups who are opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. The Policing Board's 2002-2003 report, states that 72% of Catholics questioned in a Community Attitudes survey stated that a fear of intimidation or attack was why they’re reasoning not to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
But there is no great sense of crisis in Northern Ireland, and there have been notable successes, brought about by the GFA, which may prove enough to ensure that violent conflict remains a thing of the past.
When comparing the present day, with how things were 30 years ago, it is clear that real progress has been made. There has been no return to the terrorist activities, and at the moment there is in effect a ceasefire, which has led to the slow removal of British troops from the streets of N.I. This would not be happening had it not been for the GFA. It was that single document that led to all the parties actively round the table talking, and without it, there may never have been any change. There is a real willingness for it to work, and although it may only be a change in attitude since September 11th, people strongly reject terrorism and violence now.
There is also no real alternative. The people don’t want to return to how things were prior to the GFA. People have lost family and friends, and they voted it for it, so they’ll support it, as will the Government of the UK and Ireland. The Irish government released a declaration of support, the first point of it being:
“We, the participants in the multi-party negotiations, believe that the agreement we have negotiated offers a truly historic opportunity for a new beginning.”
I believe that there will be an end to the problems eventually. The first big steps have been made towards peace, and if gradual decommissioning continues, then slowly British troops will leave. There will probably always be a problem as to the legitimacy of the state, but I am optimistic that over time violence will become part of N.I’s history, and through education and talking they’ll be able to find a resolve.
