Execution time2024-02-04 22:45
O’Neill, head of local government, refutes the British government’s view that ‘prospects of separation are unrealistic’
Michelle O’Neill, British President of Northern Ireland
[AFP 연합뉴스 자료사진. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
(London = Yonhap News) Correspondent Choi Yoon-jeong = New President Michelle O’Neill, who became the first member of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin to become the head of the British government of Northern Ireland, said that a referendum on the unification of the island of Ireland could be held from within 10 years.
In an interview with Britain’s Sky News reported on the 4th (local time), O’Neill, head of local government, said, “I believe this is a ‘decade of opportunity,'” and added, “The fact that an Irish nationalist has risen to this situation is proof that old standards are changing. There are so many things. “It is changing,” he said.
This is in opposition to the British government’s prediction that the Irish unification vote is unrealistic.
The British government said in a document published recently that “the prospect of a vote on a united Ireland is not realistic” and that “Northern Ireland’s future will remain firmly within the United Kingdom for decades.”
According to AFP, a vote on Irish unification under the name ‘border poll’ was guaranteed in the Belfast Peace Agreement of 1998, which ended the bloodshed surrounding the sovereignty of Northern Ireland and established the current peace regime.
The British and Irish governments should organize a vote when it becomes clear that a majority of voters want Northern Ireland to separate from the United Kingdom.
Although detailed regulations for the referendum have not been specified, the AFP news agency reported that if the results of public opinion polls on this issue were consistent, the vote could be held.
According to Sky News, public opinion regarding unification is growing in Northern Ireland.
57% of future generations between the ages of 18 and 24 support Irish unification, and the number of pro-Ireland Catholics outnumbers Protestants.
Sinn Féin is likely to become the ruling party in the Irish general election held within the next 12 months.
According to Sky News, Sinn Féin’s approval rating in the current opinion polls is 27%. The current coalition opponents, the United Ireland Party (Fine Gale) and the Republican Party (Fianna Fail), have 20% and 17%, respectively.
However, Sky News pointed out that O’Neill’s immediate task is to continue sharing power with the federal Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), while Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is more interested in housing issues and inequality in Ireland.
The centrifugal force in every region of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which is the British Commonwealth, is increasing.
Scotland, with a population of 5.5 million people, voted to remain independent in 2014 with 55% in favor and 45% against.
However, there is a movement to call for another independence referendum on the grounds that Brexit (Britain’s departure from the EU) is a decision against the will of the people of Scotland.
merciel@yna.co.kr
Report via KakaoTalk okjebo
< 更多代(c) 周年物利,
Unauthorized reproduction/redistribution, learning and use of AI prohibited>
2024/02/04 22:45 Sent
#Northern #Irelands #leader #vote #Irish #unification #years
