Good Friday Agreement demands we stand by the people of Northern Ireland over Brexit
PEACE is made by putting our own conveniences, economics and feelings to the side for the greater good.
Dan O’Brien’s declaration that we should abandon a backstop that protects not only nationalists but also unionist businesses from the harshest aspects of Brexit (Comment, March 21) is exactly the sort of mé féiner behaviour the Irish need to avoid at a time when everyone in Northern Ireland is feeling very vulnerable.
When Ireland signed up to the Good Friday Agreement, we agreed to stand by Northern Ireland in the journey of peace that it had embarked on, supporting the difficult choices as people reached across the sectarian divide to figure out how to create a mutually respectful future and a Northern Ireland which cherishes all her children equally.
Throwing Northern Ireland under a bus at the behest of a minority – especially a minority that does not reflect the Remain vote of the Northern Irish people – to serve some sort economic gain is not honouring our commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.
We should be calling for the decision about their future to be put to the Northern Irish people, whose very lives have been turned upside down by this Brexit mess.
It is pretty obvious that the hard Brexiteers – for all their wailing about the backstop regarding the Border – do not really give a fig about the people of Northern Ireland.
For the sake of peace and harmony on our island, Ireland should avoid giving the same impression.
Pauline Bleach
Wolli Creek, NSW, Australia