Belfast park opens door to peace

Wall divides Alexandra Park in two to prevent Catholics and Protestants clashing On the morning of 1 September 1994, with the IRA ceasefire just 24 hours old, workers started laying the foundations for a so-called peace wall that would divide one of Belfast’s public parks into Catholic and Protestant zones. The 3m-high fence in Alexandra Park between the mainly Catholic Antrim Road and the loyalist Shore Road became a symbol of growing sectarian divisions despite the end of the IRA and later the loyalist paramilitaries’ armed campaigns. There are now dozens of these walls keeping apart Protestants and Catholics, and many them have been up longer than the Berlin Wall. But now, for the first time since any of the barriers throughout the city were built over the past four decades, a breach will made be in one. As part of a three-month trial a gate in the fence will open between 9am and 3pm on weekdays. Welcoming the first opening of any of the walls that were built to curb sectarian street fighting and intimidation, local justice minister David Ford said it was an “important day for Northern Ireland”. Ford said: “On this occasion, the people of the Alexandra Park area have shown great courage to take the first step and open up an interface barrier that has been a symbol of division and segregation for so long. “Building a new shared future for Northern Ireland includes dealing with sensitive and difficult issues like the removal of interface barriers. “Traditionally it is a debate that polarises opinion but we must find some way of removing these structures over time and with agreement from the community if we are serious about building a shared future,” he said. A second barrier on the Limestone Road, running parallel to the park, will also be opened during the day as long as traffic-calming measures are installed, which residents have asked for. The process for installing the road safety features and opening the barrier is expected to take two to three months. The barrier will then be opened on weekdays. The peace walls have become a must-see stop on tours for foreign holidaymakers coming to Belfast. Tour buses regularly park at some of the most infamous walls including the largest at Cupar Street separating part of the republican Falls and loyalist Shankill Road. This barrier is the closest to resemble the western side of the old wall in West Berlin with visitors painting their names and carving messages denouncing the barriers and calling for peace between the two communities. The peace walls originated as make-shift barbed wire barricades which the British Army constructed in 1969 along the stretch between the Shankill and the Falls at the outbreak of the Troubles. On 10 September 1969 Army chief Lt General Sir Ian Freeland made a prediction: “The peace line will be a very, very temporary affair,” he told the world’s media gathered in Belfast. “We will not have a Berlin Wall or anything like that in this city,” he added. The Berlin Wall was taken down 22 years ago. There are still around 48 walls cutting through areas of Belfast. Northern Ireland Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.