What Are the Chances of Peace In Northern Ireland?

                   Another attempt at peace in my lifetime is the Good Friday agreement in 1998 this was a new Northern Ireland Assembly with 108 members would be set up. All key decisions would require the consent of both communities in the province. North-South council set up members of Northern Ireland and Irish Republic; Irish Government would no longer claim Northern Ireland was part of its territory.

        There was a review of policy RUC in Northern Ireland and there was a promise to release paramilitary prisoners.

   Most Loyalist and Republican groups prepared to stop fighting although some still prepared to fight and their were series of shootings in February and March 1998 and people of Ireland voted on whether to accept Good Friday agreement.

       Irish Republic – 94% voted to accept the agreement, while only 71% of Northern Ireland voted to accept it, this obviously meant that the Republic felt the agreement was better for them.

       All of the breakthroughs, which have been made, have been good but many problems still exist.

      The Good Friday for example that meant the two sides was talking. The IRA ceasefire was another good breakthrough, after pressure from Gerry Adams after the Downing Street declaration and the Northern Ireland Assembly that was created containing representatives from all the parties could have a say of what went on in Ireland.

        The International involvement i.e. the USA and the Republic of Ireland Government no longer hold a claim over Ulster, and the existing ceasefire involving all the paramilitaries from all sides.

    All of these breakthroughs though obviously come with problems and obstacles all still exist as well like the Decommissioning of arms, which the IRA are refusing to do until the Unionists will compromise, which the unionists will only compromise after the IRA hand over their arms.

       Very Recently actually David Trimble quit the Ulster Union Party because the IRA wouldn’t decommission, David Trimble threatened and threatened to quit and the IRA still refused to decommission so he quit. The IRA mainly wouldn’t their arms due to the fact that if they decommission their weapons then they would be vulnerable to the UUF, UVF and the British Army.

        So overall lot’s of problems need to be overcome, as I have outlined in this question and if they’re not overcome then their will never be peace in Ireland.