Riots in Northern Ireland continued on Friday night, with protesters using gas bombs against police and setting a car on fire in the capital of Belfast.
The night of violence was the eighth straight day of demonstrations and unrest in five towns and cities in Northern Ireland – a trend that experts worry about the possibility that the region could see a sustained revival of sectarian violence. Saturday, April 10, is the 23rd anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that ended 30 years of such conflict, known as ‘the problems’, but has since flared up from time to time.
In the past week, a double-decker bus was hijacked and set on fire; masked youths threw homemade gas bombs at police; rival gangs threw bricks and fireworks at each other. So far no deaths have been reported, but at least 74 police officers have been injured, and observers say the period of turmoil is the worst sectarian violence Northern Ireland has seen in eight years.
Most rioters are young people – some as young as 12, the Northern Ireland Police Service told CNN. The violence is concentrated in ‘unionist’ communities, but conflict has also taken place in areas that separate trade union communities from ‘nationalist’ neighborhoods. During the troubles, union members were largely Protestant and identified with loyalty to the United Kingdom, and nationalists were mostly Catholics, identified as Irish and seeking a united Ireland.
While conflict between the groups formally ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, tensions and violence receding to the problems are recurring and are often linked to the concern that one group has undue influence or power over national affairs. The current series of clashes has profiled enough that the Biden government has released a brief statement expressing concern about increasing violence.
Experts believe that there is not one clear explanation for the recent clashes, but that there are a few different factors – which could possibly feed each other. Brexit, and the sense in trade union communities that London is neglecting Northern Ireland by the terms of the agreement, is one factor. Another issue is a recent decision by authorities to prevent nationalist politicians from being prosecuted for contesting Covid-19 protocols.
What is clear is that political observers are seeing violence escalate at an alarming rate. “I think it’s very serious. “It’s easy to see how things can escalate and hard to see how things can calm down,” Katy Hayward, a professor of political sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, told the New York Times.
There are several factors driving the unrest in Northern Ireland
Conflict and violence between unions and nationalists date back decades. But the most recent violence seems, at least in part, to be a reaction to a specific hotspot in the relationship between the two communities.
Much of the initial violence came after state prosecutors decided last month not to charge nationalist party leaders Sinn Fein with violating Covid-19 regulations by attending the funeral for Bobby Storey. Storey was a former top member of the Irish Republican Army, the paramilitary group that waged a violent campaign against the British and for a reunited Ireland during the troubles.
Many union members see the decision not to prosecute party members as a sign of political favor, as union members have been told to cancel their traditional 12th July parade last year, and the charged symbolism surrounding the funeral. The decision sparked anger and protests.
‘It happens because of the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] and the reconciliation of the legal system across the Republicans, ”said Ian Edwards, a resident of Shankill Road, a Protestant community, referring to the nationalists who prefer a united Ireland.
According to experts, another important factor fueling outrage and protest is the way many in Northern Ireland feel betrayed by the provisions of Brexit – the UK’s departure from the European Union – which will be completed at the beginning of this year. is. In this scenario, unions feel blinded by the British government, which they say has failed, as reported by the New York Times:
Pursuant to an agreement in a protocol [British Prime Minister Boris] Johnson, Northern Ireland, gained a special economic status that landed it across the UK and the European Union’s trading systems.
However, it also sets up some new controls, particularly on goods flowing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland – something that is an anema for union members who want equal treatment with the rest of the UK.
Despite the agreement he entered into, Johnson promised that there would be no new ‘border in the Irish Sea’, and because he overlooked the looming problems, his government did little to change its mind in the North. -Prepar Ireland for the changes.
Yet, on 1 January, when the trade rules came into force after Brexit, businesses faced new paperwork, and some British companies stopped moving goods to Northern Ireland, causing a shortage of supermarket shelves has. Amid growing tensions, the control of goods has been temporarily halted after threats were made against customs personnel.
In other words, trade unionists in Northern Ireland feel they have been misled about the terms of Brexit and the economic impact it would have on them.
Another complicating factor is that the period surrounding the Easter holidays often contains an increasing communal conflict, ‘Politico notes, due to the commemoration of the Irish Republican Army among the nationalists in Northern Ireland on the one hand and the union parades on the other side.
Further complications could come from criminal groups trying to escalate the chaos and exploit tensions over Covid-19 restrictions to cause law enforcement problems.
There are a complex set of factors that can explain what contributes to the current chaos – and given the whirlpool, it may develop further in the future.