NORTHERN IRELAND (2)

I said in an earlier post on this subject that I have never really understood Northern Ireland. Last week's events have not changed that.

In principle there is an uneasy peace between the two tribes in Northern Ireland. As part of that tortuous process, Belfast City Council voted on 3 December not to fly the British Union Jack flag all the time, but only on 20 designated days. The nationalists on the council had wanted the flag, the archetypal loyalist symbol, taken down completely. But the centrist Alliance Party, which holds the balance of power on the council, managed to broker the eventual compromise.

Unfortunately, compromise is not what many people in Northern Ireland want. Since the decision, there have been protests, riots, death threats and the trashing of Alliance Party offices. Yes, flags are symbols, but they are not that big a deal, in my view. But, as I say, I don't understand Northern Ireland.

Walter Blotscher