The Northern Ireland bind

THE time known as “The Troubles” never really ended in Northern Ireland. While the 1998 Good Friday Agreement brought an era of relative peace and prosperity to the UK region, paramilitary groups still exist and lower levels of violence continue to plague the community.

Brexit may cause the smouldering conflict to flare up once again, especially if there are renewed customs and passport controls along the now-invisible border between EU member Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland after Britain leaves the EU.

Fears about a return to the violence that killed more than 3500 people over three decades have made Northern Ireland the biggest hurdle for UK and EU officials who are trying to hammer out a deal.

Besides securing the Irish border from fraud and smuggling, they must tiptoe around anything that will inflame the tensions between those who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK and those who want it to be reunited with the Republic of Ireland.

The EU underpinned the Good Friday peace deal because both Britain and Ireland were members of the bloc. That meant people and goods could flow freely across the frontier.

After Brexit, the Irish land border will become an external EU border. Negotiators are struggling to find a way to regulate trade without rebuilding checkpoints.

While the Good Friday peace deal ended daily mayhem, it didn’t bring about reconciliation.