Northern Ireland's Rival Leaders Reach Deal on Sharing Power
Protestant and Catholic political leaders in Northern Ireland have announced a deal to form a power-sharing government on May eighth.
The breakthrough, announced Monday in Belfast, came after the first face-to-face talks between hardline Protestant leader Ian Paisley and Catholic Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
The bitter foes, who previously negotiated through third parties, met just hours ahead of a British deadline for the formation of a government. They sat side-by-side in announcing the deal.
The 80-year-old Paisley said the "justified horrors and tragedies of the past" must not become "a barrier to a better and more stable future for our children."
Adams, who heads the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, said the deal "marks the beginning of a new era."
In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the pact, saying "everything we have done for the past 10 years has been in preparation for this moment."
北爱尔兰新教和天主教政治领导人宣布了一项今年5月8号组建权力分享政府的协议。
星期一在贝尔法斯特宣布这项突破性协议之前， 强硬派的新教领导人佩斯里和天主教新芬党领袖亚当斯举行了首次面对面的谈判。
这对宿敌过去一直通过第三方进行谈判，他们这次在英国为组建政府而制订的最后期限结束前仅数小时举行了会晤。他们在宣布这项协议时并排坐在一起。
80岁的佩斯里说，“过去特定环境下的发生恐怖和悲剧”不能阻碍“为我们的后代建立一个更好、更稳定的未来”。
爱尔兰共和军政治党亚当斯说，协议“标志着新世代的开始”。
英国首相布莱尔在伦敦赞扬这个协议。他说：“我们过去10年来做的一切努力都是为了这一刻的到来。”
