Letter: As unionists who negotiated and implemented the Belfast Agreement, we believe it is being undermined by republicans when they impose the Irish language on everyone whether they like it or not

We did so to end the violence that had pervaded Northern Ireland for 30 years, to secure our position within the UK and to take forward a stable NI working on the basis of partnership in a spirit of reconciliation and tolerance.

In particular, we implemented and fully funded the language provisions of the agreement contained in Article 4; Rights, Safeguards, and Equality; always mindful of the over-riding requirement of the agreement to do so ‘where appropriate and where people so desire it’.

It is a matter of deep regret that our honouring of the word and spirit of the Belfast Agreement has not been reciprocated by republicans who constantly attempt to usurp the settlement that was convincingly approved by the electorate in referenda.

The latest move by Sinn Fein, sadly aided and abetted by the once-neutral Alliance Party, to impose the Irish language on all the citizens of our capital city whether residents and council employees like it or not is a fundamental breach of Article 4 of the deal. Furthermore, the added imposition of Irish street and road names if requested by just 15% of residents even if 85% disapprove is a perversion of democracy and contrary to natural justice.

Sinn Fein’s actions are proof of their weaponisation of a language which was never spoken or used to any great extent anywhere in Northern Ireland. In 1997 they stated ‘every word of Irish spoken is like another bullet being fired in the struggle’ and after the council decision last week their response was ‘unionists will just have to suck it up’.

Unionism needs to wake up to the fact that this is just the thin end of the wedge. Their ultimate aim is to require every school child to have to learn Irish, every private company and public body to have to adopt bilingual practices; and the penalties for not doing so will be exclusion from participating in public sector contracts or holding public sector jobs. Their objective is to remove any vestige of Britishness from our country.

These serious breaches of key safeguards in the Belfast Agreement need to be called out by both the UK and Irish governments who are the legal guarantors of the agreement; and urgent action is required by the Equality Commission and Human Rights Commission to remind Belfast City Council and others that the Rights and Equality safeguards of the Belfast Agreement are there to protect unionists just as much as nationalists and others. The extent of unease and anger right across unionism should not be under-estimated.

Lord Rogan, Lord Kilclooney, Michael McGimpsey, David McNarry, David Campbell

Ulster Unionist 1998 negotiators