In the last decades of the 20th century, the conflict in Northern Ireland seemed intractable. Unionists and loyalists wanted Northern Ireland to remain a member of the United Kingdom, while republicans and nationalists wanted it to be part of a united Ireland. The agreement brought together republicans and trade unionists after decades of political conflict in Northern Ireland Although the peace process initially progressed largely smoothly, tensions intensified in 2001, with the escalation of sectarian conflicts, riots, political differences and the dismantling process. Real IRA bombs on the BBC and a business district in London threatened to derail the peace process. [12] [13] The Holy Cross conflict in north Belfast from June 2001 would become an important episode of sectarian conflicts. Widespread riots broke out in July[14] and in the same month, the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) withdrew from the Good Friday Agreement, while the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) withdrew from the “current phase” of the peace process. [15] On 26 July, the two extremists of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), David Burnside and Jeffrey Donaldson, both called for their party to withdraw from the support of the new Stormont assembly.- [16] On the Republican side, the “no” campaign seemed to focus on the purity of The Republican ideal of total and absolute independence of Great Britain. From this point of view, each, however temporary, was presented as the objective of Irish unity (or the right to lead the armed struggle) as a betrayal of those who had fought and died for Ireland. The dismantling of arms and the end of paramilitary activities were presented as a capitulation to the British. The principle of consent was presented as a union veto, as it meant that political progress would be almost impossible without union participation. It was reported that the agreement accepted a division. The state and its institutions would remain hostile to the republican community, critics said. Despite these concerns, the vast majority of Republicans voted “yes,” only a few small, unrepresentative parties (such as the Republican Sinn Féin) argued for a no vote on the nationalist side.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or the Belfast Agreement (irish: Comhaonté Aoine an Chéasta or Comhaonté Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance)[1] is a couple of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that put an end to most of the violence of the Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had erupted since the late 1960s. This was an important development in the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s. Northern Ireland`s current system of de-decentralized government is based on the agreement. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The agreement called for the creation of an independent commission to review police rules in Northern Ireland, “including ways to promote broad community support” for these agreements.