London:Is the UK going to break up? Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to meet Monday to discuss independence referendums Leaders will meet in Cardiff, Wales, to sign a joint declaration to pursue independence by democratic means,
as reported in The Telegraph. has recently indicated she would hold a referendum on Scottish independence if there was a “clear consensus” for one.
US President Trump on Irish independenceEarlier, US President Donald Trump had considered supporting a united Ireland. “I’d love to see a united Ireland,” Trump told reporters after meeting Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin. But the US president had ducked a question on Scottish independence. "“I don’t want to cause any problems but I would love to see it unified,” Trump said. It will happen, at some point. It might as well be now. “I think it would be a fantastic thing,” he said, adding “the UK will have something to say about it, obviously,” he said.
Why do Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland want more self-government?The recent elections have strengthened the parties that favor greater autonomy and this has boosted the push for independence. In Wales Plaid Cymru emerged as the biggest party in the May elections. The pro-independence SNP remained a force to be reckoned with in Scotland. The Sinn Fein made gains in Northern Ireland after the 2022 Stormont election.
A review of the Northern Ireland independence movementAn independence movement fueled decades of violence in Northern Ireland, which claimed some 3,600 lives. Previous U.S. presidents, including those with strong sentimental attachments to Ireland like Joe Biden, have shied away from tackling the issue head-on.
Northern Ireland was divided into two main communities: nationalists, most of whom were Catholic, who wanted to be united with the rest of Ireland, and mainly Protestant unionists who wanted to stay British. The Troubles finally exploded into a flashpoint – three decades of violence between paramilitary groups on both sides and British troops. A 1998 peace deal, brokered with US help, largely ended the violence but left the ultimate status of Northern Ireland unresolved.
-
With AP Inputs.
Also Read: