Cyprus could learn a lot from studying the Irish model in terms of how two sides that have experienced conflict can work together to promote peace, peacekeepers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland serving with UNFICYP told CNA, on the sidelines of a reception held at the Irish Ambassador’s residence on Thursday evening.
People can look at their children and know that the society they will grow up in is one with differences but without fear, Irish Ambassador to Cyprus Conor Long told the Cyprus News Agency, noting that despite challenges the Good Friday Agreement has proven “incredibly resilient as a political framework.”
If the appetite is there, there is room to live harmoniously on this island
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Irish Police Force Superintendent Denis Whelan said that before joining the force in 1995, he met his future wife, a Protestant from Northern Ireland, in 1992 and remembers very vividly the culture shock he experienced when he first crossed the border to the other side of the island.
“The change occurred on both sides during the last 30 years has been transformative. The younger generations are moving on, they do not know the troubles previous generations went through,” he added in this regard.
Having been posted to Cyprus for the last six weeks, Whelan said he can definitely see the similarities between what the people here are going through and what happened in Ireland.
“If the appetite is there, there is definitely room to live harmoniously on this island. It is going to take willpower on behalf of politicians and the people of both sides. Ireland is a shining example of that being possible, what people here have gone through is pretty much what people in Ireland went through”, he noted.
He also said that everyone has accepted what the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted. “The people have a voice and whatever the people say this is the way it is going to be.
Asked about the cooperation between soldiers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland stationed in Cyprus, he said that this would probably not be possible 30 years ago, noting at the same time that almost all of these soldiers are under 30 years of age, they have not experienced the Troubles, therefore they are looking at it through a fresh perspective.
“At the end of the day, it does not matter where you are from, the majority of people just want to live in peace, they want to raise their families without the risk of getting hurt. You have to get people around the table, people have to sit down and discuss because at the end of the day we are all human, there is very little separating us”, he stressed.
He also expressed his hope that the next time he visits Cyprus in a few years’ time the situation will have improved. “If there is willingness, anything is possible”
Every journey begins with a first step
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Cyprus could learn a lot from studying the Irish model, even though important work still needs to be done, said UNFICYP’s Sector 2 Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Colin McLenaghan.
He added on the case of Northern Ireland that it took courage to believe that there was a better future.
“Twenty five years later there are still things to work on, but we are far better now compared to 25 years ago. Every journey begins with a first step, there is always something to hope for and to look forward to, being able to have that faith that there is something that can bring the people together for a joint better future”, he noted in this respect.
He also said that the Good Friday agreement has enabled a generation of children to grow up in peace, as they have no recollection of what has happened in the past.
“That is the future we are striving for, there are still difficulties that need to be worked through, people do not want another agreement, but peace and stability for their children to live in harmony together”, he stressed.
Good Friday agreement resilient, communities express differences through politics
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Ambassador of Ireland to Cyprus Conor Long focused for his part on the identity dimension, noting that there is no question of the identity of either community having been lost or diminished by the Good Friday agreement, which explicitly recognises that there are two identities and sets out a framework for cooperation.
“There are still difference between the two communities, we are not trying to say that everything vanished, but the lived experience is so different compared to the 1970s and 1980s,” he stressed, adding that people can look at their children and know that the society they will grow up in is one with differences but without fear.
Asked if the Good Friday agreement can be called a success story on the way differences between communities can be resolved in a peaceful way for the benefit of everybody, Long said that the politics of Northern Ireland are still in large measure driven by the issues of identity.
He added that the agreement is still in operation and despite political challenges “it has proven incredibly resilient as a political framework.”
“Even now the discussion is about restoring the power-sharing administration, it is not about looking for a better agreement, it is about a compromise which recognises the two identities in Northern Ireland, which sets out protection of rights, established power sharing, and that is democratically approved by the people of Northern Ireland, who are still voting for parties which for the most part are very keen to make the Good Friday Agreement work,” he added.
“We grew up with a Northern Ireland where there was not a political framework in which the differences between the communities could be expressed, and there was violence. For the last 25 years the two communities have expressed their differences through politics and that is proof of success,” the Irish Ambassador concluded.
