The unionists don’t believe that all the weapons have been destroyed as the IRA were always in control of their declarations of their holdings. The independent observer appointed was the Canadian General John de Chastelain, who headed the Northern Ireland decommissioning team and he produced evidence to support the IRA statement that all weapons were destroyed. Nevertheless suspicions remain.
Tony Blair said, “People in Northern Ireland will now want to see clear evidence that all forms of paramilitary and other criminal activities have ended for good.” The IRA did not want photos taken as they thought it would be to humiliating. This proves that there is still tension between the two ideologies and furthermore, this shows that they do not trust one another. However the decommissioning is still progress and trying to obtain peace. Both sides see the current situation as part and relevant to longer-term goals. Ultimately the desired state for the republicans is a united Ireland whilst the loyalists want to retain affiliation as part of the United Kingdom.
There have been examples of communication in the past between the government and the organisations, the Good Friday agreement being one. On May 22nd 1998 the Good Friday agreement was endorsed by the majority of the people of Ireland. The agreement is the product of inclusive negotiations involving parties and the Irish and British governments. It is an all-Ireland agreement, which recognises the causes of division between the two parties and is intended to commit them to building a society based on equality and justice. Sinn Fein views the agreement as transitional in nature and supports its full implementation. This is a good sign of peace as in the past Sinn Fein has been committed to pursuing a “united Ireland,” for example when Sinn Fein representatives were elected as members of parliament they refused to take their seats. However the hard-line unionists are not so comfortable with the Good Friday agreement.
The History of Northern Ireland is the major factor about whether there will be peace. There is a long history of suspicion and enmity between Catholics and Protestants and it is rarely forgotten. Unionists and Nationalists use the history against one another and show this in murals, the use of flags and colours, and in affiliation of clubs and associations. For example the IRA use collections in pubs and clubs in republican areas and the loyalists gain their sympathy through the Orange Lodges. Murals are paintings usually on the side of houses, depicting pieces of history, however icons such as Chuchulain a mythical character known as “the Irish Achilles” is used on both protestant and catholic murals, which indicates that history has been changed to suite each religion. Theobald Wolfe Tone, commonly known as Wolfe Tone was a leading figure in the Irish independence movement and is regarded as the “father of Irish republicans.” So many Catholics use him as an icon on their murals. This has an effect on the different communities. In many cases, especially in the cities of Belfast and Londonderry, areas are strictly divided into separate communities. For example Shankill Road in west Belfast is a strict loyalist area and it borders with strict republican areas such as the Ardoyne. In some places, such is the animosity between the different groups, the security forces have had to build ‘Peace walls’ to keep the two apart. Feelings and believes continue to run deep.
In conclusion there has already been vast amounts of peace agreements in Northern Ireland, however, it is a process that takes a long of time and is hindered by different events. There is a lengthy history of conflict in Northern Ireland and many people find it very difficult to put it behind them. Furthermore due to conflict between the two ideologies, I assess that the two sides find it difficult to trust the other. Recent announcements of IRA decommissioning has made the peace and cooperation factor look positive, however the Unionists find it hard to believe that all the weapons have been destroyed. I think that there will be peace in Northern Ireland as there has already been so much progress and younger citizens of Northern Ireland are being brought up to take a wider perspective and consider living in harmony and in peace. I believe that it will be a long continues process before peace is finally announced.
