? ?
WORLD / Europe
Historic handshake in Northern Ireland
(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-11 15:14
DUBLIN, Ireland -- Northern Ireland leader Ian Paisley and the head of
state of the Irish Republic, President Mary McAleese, shook hands Monday
for the first time - another symbolic milestone on Ireland's road to
reconciliation.
Northern Ireland First Minister Dr Ian Paisley, left, meets Irish
President Mary McAleese for the first time, at Somme Heritage Center,
which honors the sacrifices of British soldiers from Ireland in World War
I, at Conlig in Northern Ireland, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. [AP]
Paisley, 81, for decades rejected any role for the Irish Republic in
Northern Ireland, a predominantly Protestant part of the United Kingdom.
Last year, he accused McAleese of being a deceitful politician who talked
nicely in public but privately loathed Northern Ireland's Protestant
majority.
Since taking the helm of a new Catholic-Protestant administration in
Belfast four months ago, First Minister Paisley has demonstrated a sudden
zeal for cooperating with the predominantly Roman Catholic south.
A battery of photographers captured the moment when Paisley shook hands
with McAleese, a Belfast-born Catholic, at a World War I heritage center
east of Belfast. The two held hands and offered beaming smiles for
several seconds as the cameras flashed.
McAleese, 56, who has made all-Ireland cooperation a major plank of her
presidency since 1997, said the rise of Catholic-Protestant cooperation
meant Northern Ireland was enjoying "a fresh and energizing new spirit of
hope."
Paisley and McAleese met at the Somme Heritage Center, which honors the
sacrifices of British soldiers from Ireland in World War I, particularly
during the disastrous Somme offensive of 1916. The leaders jointly
launched an exhibition on the 16th Irish Division, which was recruited
largely from the Catholic south.
Paisley previously broke the ice at symbolic events with Irish Prime
Minister Bertie Ahern but until Monday had avoided McAleese, the
country's most high-profile diplomat.
Paisley refused to answer questions about tensions within the Free
Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the hard-line Protestant denomination he
founded in 1951. On Saturday, his office announced he would step down in
January as leader of the Free Presbyterians but gave no reason. Paisley
has yet to explain why he was ending his term.
His critics within the church - which rejects ecumenical contact with
Catholics - have demanded he go because of his newfound willingness to
share power with Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army-linked party that
represents most Catholics in Northern Ireland.
Protestants and Catholics fought together in British uniform in World War
I, although most Protestant troops joined the 36th Ulster Division. Many
demobilized Catholic soldiers joined the outlawed IRA upon their return
to Ireland, where a two-year guerrilla war led to Ireland's partition and
independence for the mostly Catholic south in 1922.
Top World News ?
* Purported new bin Laden video appears - CNN
* Abbas, Olmert agree to set up negotiation team
* Petraeus talks of troop withdrawal
* 5 killed in plane crash in DR Congo
* Italian tenor Pavarotti is dead
Today's Top News ?
* Consumer inflation jumps to 11-year high
* Paulson warns Congress on China bills
* Terrorism 'big threat' to Olympics
* Purported new bin Laden video appears
* Al-Qaida: 2nd bin Laden video coming
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learn mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment