Negotiations Resolution & Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Negotiations Resolution & Conflict - Essay Example Understanding the history of Northern Ireland demands the analysis of the peace process which has generally been attributed to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) cease fire in 1994. It was this notable development that ended most of the violence and the signing of the Belfast Agreement in an effort to end the thirty years of political stalemate and sectarian violence. The chaos which were facing the region as of that time were a product of political disagreement between the political parties and in particular the nationalist Social Democratic and labor party (SDLP) which was been led by John Hume and Sinn Fein (SF) closely associated with PIRA. Political differences between the unionist and the republicans had been triggered by disagreement regarding formation of a union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain on one hand and the formation of a united Ireland on the other hand (Hennessey, 2001, p. 45). The major goal of the negotiators in the Northern Ireland peace process was ending the violence that had hit the region for 30 years. This as the parties realized, could only be achieved through a campaign aimed at permanently ending the use and support of paramilitary violence. On the part of the unionist, creation of a united Ireland would not be a good move based on a number of factors and in particular religious factors. The unionist argued that formation of a united Ireland would give the Catholic Church excessive power over the non Catholics. On the other extreme, the republicans led by the Provisional IRA wanted the formation of a united Ireland and the release of republican prisoners who were been held by the Irish government. On February, 22, 1995, a three day ceasefire was announced by the provisional IRA and this was followed by disputes over the permanence of ceasefire as declared by PIRA. These disputes were mainly centered on those parties which were still using paramilitaries and