BORIS Johnson’s government has rejected calls for a special crisis summit with Dublin’s political leaders to discuss growing tension in Northern Ireland.
The UK Government have resisted pleas for a high-level intergovernmental conference to stabilise the situation despite rising international anxiety of a return to sectarian violence.
Recent tension, several nights of violence, and the breakdown of relations between Northern Irish parties has sparked calls for urgent governmental action.
An anonymous source told The Guardian: “The view in Dublin is that the political leadership required to stabilise the situation is not going to come from within Northern Ireland right now.
"It needs to come from the two governments. Dublin believes that such a meeting would provide a very visible way to reassure people that the centre is going to hold.”
READ MORE: It seems there's a leadership vacuum as violence returns to Northern Ireland
Calls for a special meeting, in line with the Good Friday Agreement, were communicated through diplomatic channels last week but were rejected by London.
Dublin is calling for talks to be held in Northern Ireland between the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, and the Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Convey, to discuss an array of issues at the source of the tension.
Both trade and border problems, caused by the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson, are at the root of the problem.
However, an insider told The Guardian: “There is a fear of upsetting unionists, a worry that this would be seen as Dublin interfering too much in the affairs of Northern Ireland.”
On Thursday, the White House communicated concern after the police described the worst violence in Belfast for years.
READ MORE: Peter Geoghegan: Union’s discontents catch fire in volatile Northern Ireland
Brandon Lewis attended urgent talks with the five party leaders in Northern Ireland.
After which Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, said: “I’m worried about the weekend ahead. We all need to be very careful and very consciously try to do all we can to prevent this happening.
“I think there’s a strong role here for the two governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday agreement. I made that point to Brandon Lewis this morning.”
Labour has joined the calls for Johnson to arrange a British-Irish intergovernmental conference, in accordance with the “escape valve” details in the agreement to manage tension and violence.
READ MORE: Rioters blasted with water cannons as violence flares again in Northern Ireland
The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Louise Haigh, said: “If he is serious about dialogue, the prime minister should revive the Good Friday agreement institutions which he has paid little attention to.
“Every moment of instability in Northern Ireland demands focus, attention and leadership from the prime minister. Boris Johnson must start showing that.”
However, intergovernmental talks are unlikely until a legal dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol is resolved between the EU and the UK.
At the talks on Friday, Lewis explained that the protocol would not be abandoned but negotiations around its resolution will be careful and strategic, in light of the current hostility in Belfast.
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