Belfast Agreement anniversary: UUP 'delivered peace, now we must deliver prosperity' - Burrows
Twenty eight years on from the signing of the Belfast Agreement, Jon Burrows has said that his party secured peace for Northern Ireland – but the province deserves better than the “current state of politics”.
The Ulster Unionist Party leader’s comments came on the anniversary of the signing of the 1998 political settlement which for the first time secured powersharing between unionists and republicans.
At the time, the UUP was Northern Ireland’s largest party, but lost out to the DUP in subsequent years amid criticism over the failure of the IRA to decommission its weapons, Sinn Fein’s refusal to support policing and justice and a series of security scandals caused by republicans.
In a dig at his unionist rivals’ handling of devolution in subsequent years, Mr Burrows says that changes made to the Agreement have not served unionism or Northern Ireland well, and resulted in the erosion of confidence in Stormont.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Burrows said: “On this day in 1998, the Ulster Unionist Party helped bring about a more peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland. The Belfast Agreement was transformational in delivering a once unthinkable level of peace and provided an opportunity to turn hope into real prosperity and opportunity for everyone in Northern Ireland.
“The Ulster Unionist Party took a risk for peace because we believed Northern Ireland deserved better prospects than it previously had. That belief has not changed. Wanting better for our people and the next generation is the founding principle of everything this party does, and we will never abandon it.
“But twenty eight years is long enough to be honest about what followed. The hope of 1998 was not squandered by those who built the Agreement; it was systematically undermined by the failure to ensure paramilitary structures were dismantled, and by politicians who maligned the Ulster Unionist Party for the steps it took to bring about a more peaceful Northern Ireland.
“The changes made to the Belfast Agreement and other governance structures have been neither positive for unionism nor for Northern Ireland, and the last 20 years have witnessed confidence in the institutions erode.
“The Ulster Unionist Party’s mission did not end on 10th April 1998. It continued. Now is the time for the next phase of the mission to improve Northern Ireland’s governance, create real prosperity and deliver a Northern Ireland that provides hope and opportunities for everyone.
“Northern Ireland deserves better than managed decline or its current state of politics. The Ulster Unionist Party delivered the framework for peace. Now is the time to realise the full opportunity of this wonderful place we call home. I believe in Northern Ireland and it’s time we achieved our full potential.”
The Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Cormac Devlin TD, also marked the occasion by saying the deal was brought about by politicians and others “working together in the pursuit of peace”.