Belfast, U.K.
The British parliamentary elections brought hard-liners to power in the British province of Northern Ireland this week. Among unionist Protestants who want Northern Ireland to stay part of Great Britain, the uncompromising Democratic Unionists won more seats than the moderate Ulster Unionists. And among nationalist Catholics who want Northern Ireland to join Ireland, the IRA’s Sinn Fein party did better than a moderate Catholic party. David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader who shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for helping forge a peace accord with the IRA, lost his seat to a member of the Democratic Unionists. Now the most prominent unionist leader is the DU’s Ian Paisley, a gruff 79-year-old who refuses to negotiate until the IRA is completely disbanded.
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