Northern Ireland's Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders,
arch-foes during decades of bloodshed, launched a new power-sharing
government in the British province Tuesday aiming to put a final
end to violence.
Hardline Protestant cleric Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein's Martin
McGuinness took a pledge of office as first minister and deputy
first minister in the government that will have authority over
local issues in the province.
The ceremony could help to cement political stability in the
province which, since a 1998 peace accord, has largely ended 30
years of sectarian conflict that killed 3,600 people.
"I affirm the terms of the pledge of office," Paisley said,
binding himself to a pledge which includes a commitment to
non-violence and support for policing in the British province.
McGuinness repeated the words at a meeting of the Northern
Ireland assembly at Belfast's Stormont building.
The ceremony put into practice a March 26 agreement between the
main Protestant and Catholic groups, Paisley's Democratic Unionist
Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, political ally of the Irish Republican
Army (IRA) guerrilla group, to share power after years of
deadlock.
Unlike previous, failed attempts at power-sharing, the leaders
appear determined this time to make it work.
"It is a special day because we are making a new beginning and I
believe we're starting on a road which will bring us back to peace
and prosperity," Paisley said as he arrived at Stormont.
McGuinness said it was a historic day, noting: "What we're going
to see today is one of the mightiest leaps forward that this
process has seen in almost 15 years."
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said power-sharing proved that
dialogue and perseverance could bring results. "We're going to
change the political landscape from here out," he said. "We are
going to succeed".
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Prime Minister
Bertie Ahern, who have guided the Northern Ireland peace process
for the past decade, were due to speak at a reception later.
Blair, who plans to stand down as prime minister soon, sees the
latest power-sharing deal between the Protestant majority and
Catholic minority as one of the main achievements of his 10 years
in power after previous deals proved short-lived.
British Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, who signed an
order on Monday transferring local government powers from London
back to the province, praised the leaders' determination.
"Given that until literally a few weeks ago they'd never even
passed a word between each other... the personal chemistry between
them is very good," Hain told BBC radio. "...We really are at the
dawn of a new democratic future... I think it will stick and I
think it will work," he said.
(China Daily via agencies May 9, 2007)
