What Is the Good Friday Agreement?
For decades the people of Northern Ireland lived amid civil unrest, violence and bloodshed. Clashes between British forces, who ruled the country, and freedom fighters were regular occurrences. Tensions were heightened even more by the government of Ireland's desire to see Northern Ireland reunited with its original homeland. The Good Friday Agreement ended the violence and set Northern Ireland on a new course.
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Good Friday
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The Good Friday Agreement was a peace agreement signed between Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was signed by the parties on April 10, 1998, which happened to be Good Friday.
George Mitchell
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U.S. President Bill Clinton sent retired U.S. Senator George Mitchell to help negotiate the deal.
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Negotiations
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The outline for the negotiation agenda took more than one year to complete and the negotiations lasted 700 days before an agreement was reached.
Sovereignty
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The agreement recognized Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom as two sovereign states and called for the complete independence of Northern Ireland in the future.
New Government
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Within the agreement, the formation of a new government was outlined, including the the establishment of Northern Ireland governmental departments and a time line for elections.
Cooperation
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The agreement called for mutual cooperation between the United Kingdom, Ireland and Northern Ireland in areas where they shared interests. Shared interests included tourism, health, the environment, transportation, education and agriculture.
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pharper12
Oct 13, 2010
Good article. It needs some clarifications, however. The conflict in Northern Ireland began in the seventeen century when Britain colonized it. The freedom fighters you allude to were the IRA, which was disbanded as part of the Good Friday Agreement. The British military does not govern, the British government does. It's not only the Republic of Ireland's government that wants reunification -- it's the people of Ireland, including many in the North, who consider the island one country.
