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Article: Treading carefully: Northern Ireland. (British Prime Minister Tony Blair participates in multiparty talks on peace in Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 18, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SOME historic moments best go unrecorded. That, quite reasonably, seems to be the view of the British government. For when Tony Blair shook the hands of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness on October 13th-the first time a British prime minister has shaken hands with Sinn Fein leaders for over 70 years-there were no cameras present.
The handshake was well-publicised, nonetheless. When Mr Blair visited a Belfast shopping centre shortly afterwards he was greeted by a crowd of angry unionists, shouting "terrorist-lover". The prime minister was hustled away by his bodyguards. Outside the province this was reported as a public-relations disaster. In fact, Mr Blair's visit ...