Laura Lesley remembers the day the war hit closest to home. It was October 7, 1996. Hot fragments from a bomb's blast rained down on her school's playground in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Laura ran inside in fear. The attack was a sign that the latest attempt to bring peace to her country had failed.
"It was frightening. I'd never been close to a bomb before," Laura, now 13, told TFK. "I thought the school might get bombed next."
For years, a violent political and religious conflict has raged in Northern Ireland, also called Ulster. Towns are carved up into Protestant and Catholic sections, divided by painted lines, brick walls and barbed wire. The Protestants, who make up most of the population, are mostly loyal to the British, who rule Northern Ireland. The Catholics, who are a large minority, mostly favor rejoining the rest of Ireland to become one country, free of British rule.
Since 1968 nearly 3,300 people have died in Ireland, England and Northern Ireland in violence related to "the Troubles," as the conflict is known.
Now leaders from the groups at war have finally agreed that peace is more important than the old injustices that started the Troubles. On April 10, after nearly two years of talks with an American negotiator, leaders involved in the Troubles announced a historic plan for them to cooperate in governing Northern Ireland. The people of Ireland and Northern Ireland will vote on the agreement on May 22. The plan is not perfect, the leaders admit. But they hope it will finally bring peace.
"This agreement is a fair one," says George Mitchell, the negotiator President Clinton sent to Belfast, Northern Ireland. "It allows both communities to live together in peace and build a better society."
The Troubles are rooted in ancient grudges and mistrust. Just asking the groups involved how and when it all began is a sure way to start yet another big argument!
England started trying to gain control of Ireland way back in the 1100s. By the early 1700s, Protestant English settlers had taken over 95% of the land in what is now Northern Ireland. The settlers went to other parts of Ireland too. Ireland's Catholics were treated badly by the newcomers, who passed strict anti-Catholic laws. Anger at this abuse led to the Anglo-Irish war of 1919.
When the war ended in 1921, Britain gave up rule of the 26 counties that now make up the Irish Republic. But the Brits would not give up Northern Ireland, where the majority of people were still loyal to Britain. Most Catholics in the North refused to accept British rule or to leave their land. The two groups have exchanged gunfire and bombs ever since.
Making A Deal For Peace
Many attempts to find a peaceful solution to Ireland's Troubles have failed. There are not simply two sides. Many smaller groups are involved. Some are terrorist groups that think violence is a fine way to bring about change. Others are antiterrorist but flatly refuse to share power with old enemies. Mitchell, a former U.S. Senator, had the hard job of bringing these groups
together, listening to their concerns and serving as a voice of reason in a room full of anger and resentment.
Under the agreement, a new 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly of Protestants and Catholics would share power and decision-making for the region. Later, the Assembly would take over some of Britain's current powers.
A North-South Council would also be created. This council would allow the Irish Republic and Ulster to begin sharing government decisions. Any plans it made would have to be approved by the new Assembly.
Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein (pronounced shin fain), part of the Catholic Irish Republican movement, had hoped the deal would make Ireland one nation. It does not. David Trimble, leader of the Protestant Unionist Party, had hoped his loyalists wouldn't have to give up any power. He didn't get his way either.
But during the difficult talks, everyone finally agreed on one thing: refusing to compromise would bring more violence. Now it is up to Ireland's voters to accept or reject the plan.
Laura Lesley, for one, hopes the people of her country will put the past behind them and vote for peace. "I don't want a united Ireland," says Laura, whose family is Protestant. "But I would agree to it if it meant nobody dying."
Roots Of The Troubles
432 --St. Patrick arrives in Ireland, bringing Christianity. (The Protestant faith did not yet exist.)
1541 --Britain's King Henry VIII is declared King of Ireland by Englishmen living in Ireland. He opposes the Catholic religion.
1608 --Britain's King James I sends thousands of Protestant English farmers to Ireland to take over land owned by Catholic farmers, mostly in the north.
1692 --New laws forbid Catholics to vote, own land or practice their religion. Such laws remain in effect until 1829.
1916 --The Easter Rebellion. Armed Irish patriots rebel against British troops in Dublin, Ireland, on the Monday after Easter. The British execute rebel leaders.
1919-21 --The Anglo-Irish War between the British and the Irish Republican Army. In a treaty, Britain finally gives up control of most of Ireland but tightens its grip on the six counties of Ulster (Northern Ireland).
1921-23 --Irish Civil War between those who accept the treaty with the English and the Irish Republican Army, which wants all of Ireland to be free of British rule. The Republicans lose.
1949 --Britain declares Ulster a permanent part of the British Empire. The lower 26 counties of Ireland declare themselves the Irish Republic, totally free of British control.
January 30, 1972 --During anti-British protests in the Ulster town of Londonderry, 13 unarmed marchers are killed by British troops, an event now known as Bloody Sunday. Britain imposes direct rule on Ulster. A more intense era of bloodshed begins. The Irish call this violence the Troubles.
1979 --Britain's Earl Mountbatten, Prince Charles' favorite uncle, is killed by Irish Republican Army terrorists at his Ireland vacation home.
1981 --Ten Catholic Republican protesters die in hunger strikes.
April 10, 1998 --After 22 months of talks, many Irish groups announce an agreement that may finally bring peace. People in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will vote on the agreement on May 22.