Sample Page Title

David Trimble. File photoMOSCOW, July 25Former Northern Ireland First Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate David Trimble has died at the age of 77, the Ulster Unionist Party he previously headed announced. Ireland. «The news we received tonight will deeply upset (people — ed.) throughout Northern Ireland and far beyond,» the current head of the party, Doug Beatty, was quoted in a statement regarding the death of Trimble. In addition, Beatty noted that the deceased the first minister was a courageous and far-sighted man who «seized the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end decades of violence» that took place in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced his intention to step down, also expressed his condolences. As he wrote on Twitter, Trimble was a «giant of British and international politics» who will be remembered for his intelligence, courage and «fierce insistence on changing politics for the better.» In 1921, Ireland was divided in two. The smaller, northern part (Ulster), populated mainly by descendants of immigrants from England and Scotland, remained part of the UK, while the rest became a British dominion. Since then, between the Unionists and the Republicans — supporters of London and independence, respectively — the armed struggle has practically not stopped. The group «Irish Republican Army» and later breakaway organizations «Genuine IRA» (Real IRA) and «Provisional IRA» (Provisional IRA) in the 1970s and 80s carried out many terrorist acts on the territory of the United Kingdom, seeking the accession of Ulster to the Irish Republic. The IRA's terrorist and extremist activity waned after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which began the process of political settlement in the rebellious province. The Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement, created the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Parliament of Northern Ireland.