For most of the month, various groups continued calling on the IRA to signal a start to decomissioning. Sinn Fein continued its calls for the reinstatement of the Executive. Sinn Fein also declared that Unionists should be thankful that the IRA is on ceasefire at all, and should thus stop making demands for decomissioning. On 19th April, the IRA released their annual Easter message (in commemoration of the 1916 Easter rising). In it, they accused the British of continuing a "covert" war of attempting to infiltrate their ranks and also of failing to fulfill their obligations under the terms of the Agreement. The Republican newspaper, An Phoblacht, blamed the current deadlock on Unionist "intransigence" and on the British government. The UVF released a response accusing the IRA of "continuing to instill fear and distrust" into the political climate.

Rumours began on April 7th that the British and Irish governments were close to finalising a strategy to end the deadlock; speculation that was confirmed by government statements and continued in one form or another for the rest of April. However, no such a strategy ever materialised in the public domain. The DUP and dissident UUP members called several times for the Agreement to be scrapped and a new approach sought. As the month progressed, Sinn Fein expressed increasing disatisfaction with the implementation of the Agreement. Coupled with growing Unionist dissent, this means that resurrecting the Good Friday Agreement is, unfortunately, becoming more difficult with each passing day.

On 12th Apil, the Royal Ulster Constabulary was awarded the George Cross for "outstanding bravery". On an historic occasion, the Queen presented the award (the highest civilian honour) on behalf of the RUC to an officer who had lost both of his legs in an IRA bomb attack. Chief Constable Ronnie Flanaghan called it a "proud day" for the force. The award received criticism from all quarters, however. Sinn Fein said that the cross was "undeserved" and should not have been given to a "discredited" force. A huge cross and the letters "Cross of Shame" were unfurled on a mountainside overlooking Belfast. The DUP criticised the award, saying that it was merely a "pay off" for what they see as a disbandment of the RUC and not as an honour at all.

On April 13th, David Trimble announced that he planned to cut the official ties that exist between his party and the Orange Order. Currently, the Orange nominate a number of the representatives on the Ulster Unionist Council. Although some UUP MPs speak out against the move, the leadership of the Orange order actually came out in support of it: Grand Master Robert Saulters said the Order would be "better off" without the links. Mr Trimble also announced plans to cut ties with the Young Unionists, which is traditionally a fairly hard-line side of the party. The Young Unionist chairman, Philip Weir, warned Trimble that he risked tearing his party apart if he severed ties.

Sinn Fein tried twice in April to bring Nationalists to the streets in protest at the suspention of the Executive, but met with somewhat limited success. On 1st April they organised demonstrations in Dublin, Belfast, the border near Newry, Downpatrick and Crumlin. They printed and distributed 10,000 posters and 100,000 leaflets and the event was widely reported. Sue Ramsey, a Sinn Fein Assembly member, was arrested for allegedly attempting to break into Springfield Road RUC station along with a crowd of protestors. The next day, a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside a security base in Rosslea (in Fermanagh) to protest at the level of surveillance in the area. The crowd attacked the door and succeeded in breaking in. They reportedly took several pieces of surveillance equipment. These protests subsided after the weekend. On Good Frdiay (21st), Sinn Fein called on Republicans to use Easter to show their opposition to the government and to call for the restoration of the instutions. Such protests were not forthcoming, however.

There are rumours that a split is developing between the two Republican dissident groups, the 'real' IRA (responsible for the Omagh massacre) and the Continuity IRA. They are believed to have agreed an alliance in 1998, but recent reports suggest that this may be breaking down with the rIRA emerging on top. This speculation was fueled by the somewhat odd statement by the CIRA on 2nd April demanding that other Republicans stop using their name for attacks, and also denying repsonsiblity for the Ballykelly bomb of February 25th. A 'real' IRA member, John MacDonagh, was imprisoned in the Irish Republic on April 5th. The next day, a small (5lb) bomb damages the perimeter of Evirington Army base in Derry. On April 13th, the dissidents launched a (20lb) mortar-bomb attack on Rosslea RUC station (although the mortars failed to hit their target). On 21st, the CIRA released their own Easter statement in which they refused to call a ceasefire and threatened to "blitz" the province in a new wave of violence. At the end of April Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern issued a warning, saying that these "undercover armies" were trying to frustrate the Good Friday Agreement.

On 27 April, UUP MP for South Antrim, Clifford Forsyth, died after suddenly taking ill. He was 70 years old and is survived by his wife and grown-up children. Mr Forsyth, who was reknowned as a quiet and respectable politican, was buried on April 29th in Templepatrick in county Antrim. This, of course, means that there will be a by-election in Antrim South, where the UUP will be defending a large majority against DUP encroachment.

May 2000 >>