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Tolerance and patience are key
Places torn by violence can learn from the experience of Northern Ireland.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:38 April 12, 2008
April 10th, 1998, was the day Tony Blair felt "the hand of history upon our shoulder". Depending on what "side" you were on in Northern Ireland The Good Friday agreement (as nationalists call it) or the Belfast agreement (as it is known to unionists) was not the end of all violence but it set in motion the mechanism where political power could be shared. Incredibly, considering the blood-soaked history of Northern Ireland, this agreement worked and now we have witnessed the extraordinary sight of former enemies Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness joking together in power as first minister and deputy.
Northern Ireland today is not a perfect place, there are still pockets of discrimination, areas where bigotry persists and some groups still pursue a violent agenda, but it is a far better place than it was before the agreement was signed.
There are clear lessons for other areas of the world torn by violence. Talking to your opponents can result in unexpected dividends and always allow for flexibility. The agreement in Northern Ireland was not too brittle that it would smash at the first obstacle, though it was sorely tested on a number of occasions. Ten years on, it has stood the test of time.
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