N Ireland marks centenary amid strife
NORTHERN Ireland marked its centenary yesterday under coronavirus restrictions, simmering post-Brexit unrest and a leadership crisis marring the anniversary in the British-ruled province.
Northern Ireland, home to 1.9 million people, was created in 1921 as Ireland freed itself from British rule following a war for independence.
Commemoration events have been cancelled due to Covid-19 curbs and the weeks leading up to the anniversary have witnessed the worst rioting in the region for years.
First Minister Arlene Foster last Wednesday announced her resignation after a reported coup in her Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), where rancour is brewing over the consequences of Brexit.
Northern Ireland has been bitterly contested between pro-UK unionists and pro-Ireland nationalists, who do not recognise its legitimacy and regard May 3 as the anniversary of the unjust “partition” of Ireland.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson nevertheless said it was a “very significant national anniversary”, marking “the formation of the United Kingdom
as we know it today”. In contrast, Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of all-Ireland nationalist party Sinn Fein, said “a century of partition has cost us dearly”. “That past was defined by those who divide. The future is for those of us who unite,” she added.
Recent unrest across Northern Ireland emanated from the unionist community, where Johnson is held in low esteem for allowing a special post-Brexit “protocol” for the province which many feel dislocates the region from its place in the UK.
At least 88 police officers were injured in a week of riots last month that spread to the nationalist community and saw riot police with water cannon deployed against youths throwing bricks and petrol bombs.
The protocol also dealt a heavy blow to Foster in the final chapter
of her political career. Foster and the DUP have been opposed to any special post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, but have been powerless to prevent Johnson agreeing them with Brussels. Foster will step down as DUP leader on May 28 and as first minister “at the end of June”, she said in her departure statement.
Unionists fear the protocol would increase the likelihood of a united Ireland – a prospect which has been a historic source of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.
The future of Northern Ireland within the UK is ever more uncertain as many feel the fallout of Brexit has altered its constitutional status.
The Brexit protocol effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU customs union and parts of the single market.