Northern Ireland’s unionists say Biden visit doesn’t change political dynamics

BIRMINGHAM, England

The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said US President Joe Biden's visit will not change his party's more than year-long boycott of the region's power-sharing government.

"It doesn't change the political dynamic in Northern Ireland. We know what needs to happen," Jeffrey Donaldson told reporters when asked if the president's visit made any difference to his party's stance.

Biden has called for a return to power-sharing, a political design that was established as a result of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

However, the chamber cannot function with the boycott of DUP. The unionist party said post-Brexit trade rules mean Northern Ireland is treated differently to the rest of the UK and that they cannot tolerate such policies.

"We believe the (British) government needs to go further in terms of protecting Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom and our ability to trade within the UK internal market. That's what needs to happen to enable us to move towards the restoration of the political institutions,” Donaldson said, adding that his party will come hand the British government a proposal to find a solution to the political deadlock.

The DUP is a loyalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It’s the second-largest party in the Stormont and fifth largest in the House of Commons of the UK. DUP sees itself as the protector of Britishness and Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism on the island.

Former DUP leader Arlene Foster has slammed Biden, claiming the US president "hates the United Kingdom." She said his visit to Belfast "won't put any pressure" on the party to restore the chamber because he is regarded as "simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist."

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Biden, "a Catholic who had played up his Irish roots," was “anti-British,” adding: “He is pro-republican and he has made his antipathy towards Protestants in particular very well known.”

“He has fully backed the EU in this whole protocol process,” Wilson told The Telegraph. “He’s refusing to come to the coronation (of King Charles). I don’t think any of us are rushing through the door to greet him.”

Earlier in the day, Biden said that “if we look hard enough” there’s always areas that bring people together, referring to attempted murder of a police officer in February, which brought all political parties together in Northern Ireland.

In February, Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times by two gunmen while putting footballs into his vehicle after training a group of young players in Omagh.

Following the assassination attempt, party leaders released a surprise joint statement to condemn "the enemies of our peace."

Having failed to sustain a stable cross-community government for the past six years, the politicians were able to set aside their usually high tensions to express that they were "outraged and sickened by this reprehensible and callous attempted murder."

Biden's trip came two weeks after Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 said the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland had increased to "severe" due to a rise in activity by dissident Republicans. An attack is judged "highly likely" when the threat level is "severe."

"In recent months, we have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland-related terrorism, which has targeted police officers serving their communities and also put at risk the lives of children and other members of the public," Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris said.

"Northern Ireland will not go back," Biden said during his speech at the Ulster University on Wednesday, suggesting that previous levels of violence should not return.