The coming and going of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Soon after the Good Friday Agreement, there were elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The most successful parties of these elections were the moderate parties on each side, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party.
However, the building of a government failed, because the Ulster Unionist Party refused to govern with the Nationalists as long as the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, has not begun to give up their arms.
Not until December 1999, they came to a compromise. But then, after 27 years of direct government by London, the Northern Ireland Assembly could come into effect and David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, was the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
But the government was suspended only a few months later, because the IRA has not started their disarming.
Another three months later, in May 2000, the IRA gave in and declared their decommissioning and the Northern Irish government was appointed again.
In total, the Northern Ireland Assembly was appointed several times, only to be suspended again, because it did not work.
The Unionist side refused to govern as long as the IRA did not begin to disarm.
The IRA often talked about decommissioning, but did not start it seriously.
However, you also have to realise that nobody talked of disarming the paramilitary groups on the Protestant side although the Good Friday Agreement demanded this, too.
In fact, most of the violence used since the beginning of the Peace Process, came from the Unionist side. By comparison, the IRA was quite calm.
But in July 2002, the IRA did a huge step towards peace. They apologized for the deaths of many civil victims, who were killed by the IRA during more than 30 years of violence and war in Northern Ireland.
But in October the same year, the government of the Northern Ireland Assembly finally collapsed another time and was suspended the fourth time during the last three years.
But you also have to recognize that they were always suspended when the Unionists wanted this. So there still was no equal treatment in Northern Ireland.
The reason was that the IRA was blamed to have spied out members of the government.
Furthermore, many Protestant people in Northern Ireland were against the Good Friday Agreement by then.
This suspension meant direct rule by London for more than four years, as we will see later.
