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Copies of the Northern Ireland Agreement were sent to every home in
Ireland
1998: Leaders welcome 'yes' vote for N Ireland
England have
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has welcomed the resounding "yes" vote in
the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement on Northern Ireland, calling it "a
day for joy".
The referendum, held yesterday on both sides of the border, returned a
resounding "yes" vote with 71% of voters from Northern Ireland and 94% of those
in the Irish Republic showing their support for the Good Friday peace
agreement.
"This is the result we have worked for and wanted," said Mr Blair. "It's
another giant stride along the path to peace, hope and the future."
Three to one have supported the referendum. That is aresoundingvictory for
all the people of Northern Ireland.
Mo Mowlam, Northern Ireland Secretary
The agreement signed last Easter seeks to resolve relationships within
Northern Ireland - between Northern Ireland and the Republic and between both
parts of Ireland and England, Scotland and Wales - and pave the way for
devolution from Westminster with a new all-inclusive Assembly.
It was signed on 10 April - Good Friday - by all interested parties except
Rev Dr Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party and Bob McCartney's United
Kingdom Unionist Party. They objected to the presence of the IRA's political
wing Sinn Fein in the multi-party talks leading up to the agreement.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam, told reporters she was delighted
with the two nations' endorsement of the agreement.
"An important step forward"
Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble said: "It is quite clear that a
majority of unionists - not as big a majority of unionists as I would have liked
- but a clear majority - have endorsed this agreement. We have taken an
important step forward."
John Hume, leader of the nationalist SDLP, said that for the first time the
people of both sides of the Irish border were speaking as one.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he was prepared to sit down with David
Trimble in a new Northern Ireland assembly "now".
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said the overwhelming result was the true
"voice of the people".
The British Government will press ahead next month with elections for a
Northern Ireland Assembly.
The former general wept with relief when he realised he would not be
executed
1962: Ex-general escapes death sentence
Artificially 1969:
The A military court in Paris has sentenced the leader of the extremist
Secret Army Organisation (OAS) to life imprisonment.
Former general Raoul Salan wept, smiled and then laughed with relief.
It was widely expected he would receive the death penalty for leading an
organisation violently opposed to Algerian independence that has carried out
acts of terrorism in France in the last few yeas.
The panel of nine judges at the Palais de Justice had found him guilty of
five capital charges, including planning the failed coup in Algiers in April
last year.
But to everyone's amazement, thepresiding judgeannounced there were
"extenuating circumstances" surrounding the case.
Salan's lawyers hugged him and members of the public in the crowded
courtroom sang the Marseillaise or shouted "Algerie Francaise!".
There was no attempt to restore order in the courtroom. The judges withdrew
without actually reading out the sentence, which, it later emerged, is life
imprisonment.
Plan to kill French president
The "extenuating circumstances" that saved Salan's life have not been made
public. But the court must have taken on board the pleas made by Salan's lawyer,
M Tixier-Vignacour.
He had painted a picture of a French patriot and respected general fighting
for French interests in Algeria.
Since its creation in 1961, the OAS has embarked on a campaign of terrorism
in Algeria and France including the attempted assassination in September 1961 of
the French President, Charles de Gaulle.
Only three days ago French police said they had foiled another attempt on
General de Gaulle's life when they arrested 16 members of the OAS.
Nevertheless, the organisation's activities failed to stop President de
Gaulle agreeing a ceasefire with nationalists represented by the Algerian Front
de Liberation Nationale (FLN) in March.
This follows a bitter war between the FLN and the French Army that resulted
in the collapse of the French government in 1958 and the return of de Gaulle as
head of state.
Vocabulary:
resounding:clear and loud; very great(宏亮的;极大的)
presiding judge:首席法官 |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:49:00