Sunak urges the institutional unlocking of Northern Ireland on the 25th anniversary of peace

The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has taken advantage of the 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement to ask the parties in Northern Ireland to "get to the task" of governing, after 14 months of institutional paralysis.

Despite initial expectations, the anniversary of the negotiation that put an end to three decades of sectarian conflict has not served as an incentive to unblock the region's institutions.

After the historic victory of Sinn Féin last May, and with the tension over the post-Brexit lace of the Northern Irish territory in the background, the unionists refused to enter the Government, as provided for in the peace agreement.

Not even the expected attendance of the President of the United States at the commemorations has prompted political forces condemned to understand each other to resume dialogue, which has forced Joe Biden,

Lacking an executive to meet with, or a parliament to speak to, Biden will have to make do with a speech on the new Ulster University campus on Wednesday, before moving on to the Republic of Ireland, where he plans to combine the diplomatic side of his trip with more intimate encounters with distant relatives still living in Counties Louth and Mayo.

His meager agenda north of the border, however, is a source of concern and ridicule, since it represents a missed opportunity for a government, that of Sunak, which aspired to capitalize on Biden's presence in Belfast;

but also for the Northern Irish political arch, locked in a looping crisis that prevents institutional normality from being restored.

Hence, one of the messages that the British Prime Minister has tried to get through on this anniversary is the need to comply with what was agreed 25 years ago, when the "courage, perseverance and political imagination" of leaders on both sides of the border they allowed to illuminate the organisms that this April 10 appear vacant.

"We celebrate those who made difficult decisions, who accepted compromises and showed leadership", he said in a statement from the British Government on an anniversary in which it is evident that, although the peace process has given results, political understanding is still a problem. challenge under construction

The differences are not limited to the main protagonists in the region, but rather extend to relations with London, as Biden's program shows in the less than 24 hours he will spend in Belfast, from when he lands on Tuesday night, until leaving for the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday afternoon.

For months, the long-awaited presence of Biden at the anniversary events, ratifying the commitment of the United States as one of the countries most involved in the negotiations of a quarter of a century ago, anticipated meetings at the highest level, starting with the Stormont Assembly ( the Northern Irish Parliament) and speeches in different forums.

But the countdown to his arrival has been marked by inaccuracy and acts like the one expected at Queen's University have disappeared,

All in all, Sunak wants to maximize the returns of having Biden on British soil and plans to provide him with the attention that the shortened schedule allows, starting with waiting for him at the foot of the stairs through which the president descends from Air Force One, and guaranteeing the always welcome bilateral summit.

In this case, in addition, the British

intends to influence the investment side, since he considers that economic growth is "the greatest thing" that he, as British president, can do to "ensure a prosperous and flourishing Northern Ireland" and thus comply with the "promise" of the Good Friday Agreement, according to another statement issued by the Executive.

Attack on a police car during a demonstration against the Good Friday Agreement this Monday in Londonderry.

Peter Morrison (AP)

To this end, it has announced the convening of an investment summit in Belfast in September and Downing Street has also confirmed that Biden's visit will be used to "encourage long-term investment", given the strategic interest of the US Executive, as reflected in the appointment last December of Joe Kennedy III, grandson of Robert Kennedy, as the United States' special envoy for Northern Ireland.

The United States is, in fact, one of the main sources of foreign investment, reflected in the 1,500 million pounds (1,700 million euros) injected into the Northern Irish economy in the last decade, the 13,000 jobs created and the thousand companies owned by that operate in the territory, where giants such as Microsoft have established themselves.

The cross of the visit is, therefore, the frustration before the political paralysis, since in London they trusted that the Northern Irish Government would be constituted in time for the quarter century of the peace process.

The expectations have turned out to be too optimistic, although not unfounded.

The fall of the Executive in February 2022 was unleashed by the rejection of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the main Protestant formation, of the post-Brexit agreement for the region, the so-called Ireland Protocol.

Despite having been one of the few parties that had supported the British exit from the European Union, the DUP rejected the solution agreed with Brussels to avoid the reinstatement of a hard border between Northern Ireland (British) and the Republic of Ireland.

The chief minister at the time, Paul Givan,

Sinn Féin obtained victory in those elections for the first time for a republican formation and in favor of the unification of Ireland and, in accordance with the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, its leader, Michelle O'Neill, was in charge as chief minister and that of the DUP,

, in an Executive shared by both forces.

But the Irish Protocol was still anathema to the DUP, which has also not accepted the compromise solution that Sunak managed to sign with Brussels last February.

The institutional blockade in Northern Ireland remains.

At the moment, in the British Parliament, unionists have voted against the new post-Brexit agreement, the Windsor Framework Agreement, which includes the so-called

, which would allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to reject potential new community laws.

But the British prime minister is keeping his pulse and, having warned the DUP in the past that the pact is not only untouchable, but the best Northern Ireland can aspire to, has used the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement to appeal all political forces to work to put the institutions "up and running as soon as possible".

Riots in Londonderry

AGENCIES, Belfast

The day of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has passed calmly, except in the border city of Londonderry or Derry, where an unauthorized demonstration has ended in riots and the launching of Molotov cocktails at a police van.

People dressed in paramilitary uniforms have led the march, which commemorated the 1916 Easter Rising, when republican factions in Ireland revolted against UK control.

The Police, who have deployed a helicopter to monitor the demonstration, have called for calm and have clarified that no agent has been injured, according to the BBC.

Northern Irish media have pointed to the Saoradh party - the political arm of the New IRA - as the convener of the demonstration, in which dozens of young people carrying iron bars and stones have marched. 

Follow all the international information on

Subscribe to continue reading

Read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber