US urged to defend Good Friday Agreement

Posted by Jim on February 24, 2018

US urged to defend Good Friday Agreement

A concerted attack by British ‘Brexiteers’ to end Ireland’s famous 1998
peace deal may have motivated a US decision to appoint a new envoy to
the north of Ireland.

Activity in London in the wake of the collapse of talks to restore
powersharing in Belfast took an unusual turn this week when a number of
right-wing political figures directly called for the Good Friday
Agreement to be scrapped.  Their criticism appeared motivated by fears
the deal could pose an impediment to British withdrawal from the EU.

In a weekend newspaper column, leading pro-Brexit MEP Daniel Hannan said
his objections to the peace accord “were not on orange or green grounds
but on democratic grounds”. Without irony, he declared: “It’s unhealthy
to have the same people in office all the time.”

Former Tory Direct Ruler Owen Paterson and senior Labour Party figure
Kate Hoey then claimed the Good Friday Agreement was “unsustainable” and
had “outlived its use”.

Signs of an anti-GFA bandwagon have been emerging at Westminster ever
since it became clear that the peace deal was incompatible with Brexit.
A year ago, the London parliament voted to allow the British government
renege on the Agreement as part of its negotiations to leave the
European Union.  The issue has come back into focus in recent weeks as
it became central to Britain’s negotiations with the EU.

The US government has always been considered to be a force for the
protection of the agreement since it was brokered by former US Senator
George Mitchell. On Friday, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson
confirmed that the United States is again preparing to appoint a special
envoy to the north of Ireland.

Responding to questions from reporters ahead of a meeting with the
deputy prime minister in the 26 Counties, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, at the
US state department in Washington, Mr Tillerson said: “We’re giving some
names to the White House as we currently speak.”

The first US special envoy, Senator Mitchell, was appointed in 1995.
Successive appointees, including Richard Haass and Gary Hart, have
played a role in the talks process, but the position has remained
unfilled since the election of Donald Trump.

This week a group of 22 members of the US Congress called on the Trump
administration to appoint a special envoy to the region, as did the
Ancient Order of Hibernians. It is thought one will be appointed ahead
of the annual gathering of Irish politicians in the US for St Patrick’s
Day.

“Obviously the St Patrick’s Day celebrations and events would be a great
opportunity to bring some clarity there,” Mr Coveney said. He said the
importance of US engagement was “less about Brexit and more about trying
to ensure that political structures and the implementation of the Good
Friday agreement continued to be bedded down”.

He warned that talking down the peace accord could undermine peace in
the Six Counties. “It is not only irresponsible, but reckless and
potentially undermines the foundations of a fragile peace process in
Northern Ireland that should never be taken for granted,” he said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar claimed he was reassured by statements from
British prime minister Theresa May and the British Direct Ruler in
Ireland, Karen Bradley, reiterating their commitment to the agreement in
recent days.

“They’ve said that they stand by the Good Friday Agreement and their
support for it is steadfast,” he said. “You know, when I want to know
what the United Kingdom government thinks, when there are a lot of mixed
messages, I listen to the prime minister.”