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18/01/2012
£2m Initiative Introduced To Take Down Peace Walls
SDLP Leader and South Belfast MP said the so-called ‘Peace Walls’ are a concrete and steel indictment of the failure of Sinn Fein and the DUP to live up to the most basic concepts of the Good Friday Agreement.
Welcoming a £2 million initiative by the International Fund for Ireland to help bring about the conditions that would allow for the removal of peace walls, Dr Alasdair McDonnell said: "It is good that concerned people from the Fund are taking up this challenge and investing money in it. But the fact is that we already employ people to do this job and we already have a budget for it. This is a fundamental task of the reconciliation work outlined in the Good Friday Agreement and it is very clearly the responsibility of the joint Office of the First Ministers.
"There were just nine so-called 'Peace Walls' when the first ceasefire was called. Now there are between 50 and 90 depending on how they are counted. They stretch 21 kilometres on a par with the urban section of the Berlin Wall."
He said Peace Walls were a "shame and a disgrace".
He concluded: "These two parties need to explain why they have turned away from their duty of reconciliation, why they have left people on the interfaces in the lurch, why they have done nothing to create the sort of society in which people would feel at ease with their neighbours without the help of 40ft fences. They need to explain why they are so closely tied to single-community politics."
(CD/GK)
Welcoming a £2 million initiative by the International Fund for Ireland to help bring about the conditions that would allow for the removal of peace walls, Dr Alasdair McDonnell said: "It is good that concerned people from the Fund are taking up this challenge and investing money in it. But the fact is that we already employ people to do this job and we already have a budget for it. This is a fundamental task of the reconciliation work outlined in the Good Friday Agreement and it is very clearly the responsibility of the joint Office of the First Ministers.
"There were just nine so-called 'Peace Walls' when the first ceasefire was called. Now there are between 50 and 90 depending on how they are counted. They stretch 21 kilometres on a par with the urban section of the Berlin Wall."
He said Peace Walls were a "shame and a disgrace".
He concluded: "These two parties need to explain why they have turned away from their duty of reconciliation, why they have left people on the interfaces in the lurch, why they have done nothing to create the sort of society in which people would feel at ease with their neighbours without the help of 40ft fences. They need to explain why they are so closely tied to single-community politics."
(CD/GK)
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12 January 2009
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A veteran of many 'peace' rallies in the 1970s - Mairead Corrigan Maguire - one of the original anti-NI Troubles 'Peace People', has addressed a large Belfast crowd to condemn the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. She was speaking at the weekend when the City Hall demonstration was held against the Israeli attack on the Gaza area.
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A veteran of many 'peace' rallies in the 1970s - Mairead Corrigan Maguire - one of the original anti-NI Troubles 'Peace People', has addressed a large Belfast crowd to condemn the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. She was speaking at the weekend when the City Hall demonstration was held against the Israeli attack on the Gaza area.
18 July 2001
BUSH CALLS FOR DECOMMISSIONING
US President George W Bush has called on the IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups to decommission their weapons in his most demonstrative statement regarding the Northern Ireland peace process to date. Mr Bush’s first public comments are widely regarded to increase pressure on the IRA and loyalists to break the deadlock in the political process.
BUSH CALLS FOR DECOMMISSIONING
US President George W Bush has called on the IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups to decommission their weapons in his most demonstrative statement regarding the Northern Ireland peace process to date. Mr Bush’s first public comments are widely regarded to increase pressure on the IRA and loyalists to break the deadlock in the political process.
31 January 2002
John Hume honoured with Ghandi Peace Prize
Former leader of the SDLP and Nobel Laureate John Hume will be honoured in India with the Ghandi Peace Prize.
John Hume honoured with Ghandi Peace Prize
Former leader of the SDLP and Nobel Laureate John Hume will be honoured in India with the Ghandi Peace Prize.
21 October 2003
NI elections to take place in November
New assembly elections for Northern Ireland are set to take place on November 26, the Government confirmed today. The announcement came following intensive negotiations between Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams as well as both the British and the Irish governments.
NI elections to take place in November
New assembly elections for Northern Ireland are set to take place on November 26, the Government confirmed today. The announcement came following intensive negotiations between Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams as well as both the British and the Irish governments.
13 November 2013
Young People Hold 'Positive' Outlook
Young people in Northern Ireland hold an optimistic outlook on the future of the region with regard to issues such as peace walls, flags and emblems and the past, according to a new study.
Young People Hold 'Positive' Outlook
Young people in Northern Ireland hold an optimistic outlook on the future of the region with regard to issues such as peace walls, flags and emblems and the past, according to a new study.
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