Dr John Reid,
Young people urged to reach out to Unionists
The Northern Secretary has appealed to young people in the Republic to reach out to Unionists to re-assure them that they are not being threatened by the Good Friday Agreement.
In a wide ranging address on the current state of the peace process, Dr John Reid said that many people in the Republic, from the Taoiseach down, have been making huge efforts to reassure the Unionist population.
Dr Reid said that, despite these efforts, a perception has remained among Protestants and Unionists that their British culture would not be respected and would inevitably be expunged and there was also an inevitable constitutional process under way which would result in a United Ireland.
He said that he did not believe in any of these ideas but rather in an open democratic Northern Ireland where every one, irrespective of background or religion, had the same opportunity and that they would ultimately decide the future of Northern Ireland.
Dr Reid said that he believed young people in the Republic now had a particularly important role to play in reassuring Unionists. He urged them to reach out to the Unionist community at every opportunity. He said that the role young people could play was vital because they tended to be more dynamic, fresh thinking and courageous and because they were not hidebound by past experiences.
