The night-walkers of Uganda

Northern Ireland’s arch-enemies declare peace
Level 1
Elementary
Key words
1
Find the information
2
Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible.
1. When will the new Northern Ireland government begin to operate?
2. Who is the leader of Sinn Féin?
3. How long has the peace process been going on?
4. What does DUP stand for?
5. Who is the leader of the DUP?
6. How long did the meeting between the DUP and Sinn Féin last?
116

---

Northern Ireland’s arch-enemies 
declare peace 
Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent
March 27, 2007
 
The two main political parties in Northern Ireland 
are the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin. 
The DUP believes strongly that Northern Ireland 
must remain part of the United Kingdom, while 
Sinn Féin believes that Northern Ireland should 
become part of the Republic of Ireland. For many 
years these two parties have been enemies but 
this week something extraordinary happened.
The leader of the DUP, Ian Paisley, and the 
leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, sat side by 
side at a meeting for the first time yesterday. 
At the end of the meeting they announced an 
agreement to work together from May 8 in a new 
Northern Ireland government. The two men have 
been enemies for so long that many people will 
see this agreement as a very important event in 
the history of the politics of Northern Ireland.
The private meeting lasted just over an hour. 
It was the first time the two parties had ever 
talked directly to each other. Both parties issued 
statements promising political cooperation 
and the start of a new and peaceful era. The 
governments of the UK and the Irish Republic 
welcomed the agreement as an important stage 
in a peace process that has lasted more than 10 
years. 
The British government wanted the two parties 
to agree to work together in the new government 
before a deadline of midnight yesterday. The 
DUP did not want to do this. They said they 
needed more time to be sure that Sinn Féin 
would support the Northern Ireland police force. 
The new date of May 8 will give DUP members 
more time to get used to the new situation. 
The two parties said the atmosphere at their 
meeting was “friendly” and “constructive” but 
they did not shake hands. “In the past,” Mr 
Paisley said, “the British government has set the 
deadlines but now ... we as a party have agreed 
when the institutions will start work and how they 
will work. We have agreed with Sinn Féin that 
this date will be Tuesday May 8 ... After a long 
and difficult time in Northern Ireland I believe that 
the future is optimistic ... We are doing this for 
all the people of Northern Ireland. The horrors 
and tragedies of the past must not stop us from 
creating a better future. But when we look to 
that future we must never forget those people 
who have suffered during the dark period which I 
hope we are now, at last, leaving.” 
Mr Adams welcomed the DUP’s commitment. “It 
is disappointing that we have not restarted all the 
parliamentary institutions today but I believe the 
agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP ... 
is the beginning of a new era of politics on this 
island ... Centuries of conflict, hurt and tragedy 
have damaged the relationships between the 
people of this island... We have all come a very 
long way in the process of peace making. We 
know that many people have suffered. Now we 
must build the best future possible. It is now time 
to think of the future of all our people.” 
The two parties will go together to the British 
government to ask for more money for Northern 
Ireland. Mr Paisley said both parties would work 
hard before May 8 to make sure everything was 
ready. The DUP leader left the meeting smiling 
and shouted to waiting journalists: “Do you have 
eyes in your head?” 
In London Tony Blair said: “Everything that we’ve 
done in the last 10 years has been a preparation 
for this moment. Republicans and nationalists will 
still be republicans and nationalists, and unionists 
will still be unionists. But people can now come 
together, show respect for each other’s opinions, 
share power and express their politics peacefully 
and democratically.”