Sir, – There are numerous references to the people of Northern Ireland in the coverage of the Belfast Agreement’s anniversary.
There is, however, no evidence that such a grouping exists.
There are Irish citizens who are waiting for the state to wither away, and British citizens who fear this will happen.
They share no agreed narrative as to how the state came into being, no common purpose as to how it should now function, and no shared vision for its future. Allied to this are dysfunctional political institutions which have failed to deliver any meaningful improvement in the quality of life for the people they supposedly serve.
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The Belfast Agreement was built around ambiguity and evasion to disguise the fact that there wasn’t any real agreement on the core issues.
There can’t be agreement on those issues unless we somehow agree on what purpose Northern Ireland actually now serves. – Yours, etc,
PAUL LAUGHLIN,
Culmore,
Derry.