John Hume, former SDLP leader and Nobel peace prize winner, dies at 83

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

John Hume, the former SDLP leader and Nobel peace prize winner, has died aged 83.

Hume, who was awarded the peace prize for his efforts in forging the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, had suffered from ill-health for a number of years. The former Foyle MP had dementia and was cared for in the Owen Mor nursing home in Derry.
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The SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, said Hume was Ireland’s most significant political figure.

“It is no exaggeration to say that each and every one of us now lives in the Ireland Hume imagined – an island at peace and free to decide its own destiny,” he said. “This is a historic moment on this island, but most of all it is a moment of deep, deep sadness. In the days ahead, Ireland will be united in mourning his loss.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/03/john-hume-former-sdlp-leader-and-nobel-peace-prize-winner-dies-aged-83

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BBC obituary:

As the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), John Hume helped create the climate that brought an end to violence in Northern Ireland.

When the IRA called a ceasefire in August 1994, it was greeted with jubilation and relief across Northern Ireland.

Despite enormous criticism, Hume always defended his decision to talk to Sinn Féin in order to build that peace process.
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John Hume never lost the conviction that negotiations would in the end provide the solution and, he saw the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as proof of all he had argued for over the years. It was his crowning political moment; the agreement would not have happened without him.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13945530

And tributes, from all sides: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53634709

He was at the centre of the agreement. He did so much for Ireland.

[bottomofthehill]

1. John Lewis and John Hume passed just a couple weeks apart

Two champions of non-violent change. From the Boston globe

The next day, John Lewis went to Derry and met the other John, from the other Bloody Sunday. He and Hume linked arms and walked over the Peace Bridge than spans the River Foyle.

It was so unlike what happened at those other bridges so long ago. There was no violence, no hatred, just a reckoning, an affirmation that when good people put their minds to it, we can overcome.

[Hortensis]

3. :) Good-trouble makers. nt

[bottomofthehill]

6. Truth.

[bottomofthehill]

2. Great picture of the Johns (Lewis and Hume)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-z7dVtkpOSs7awpaV5K5fbRJsAOJef_57qsyJ8QosVL6ZYMCaaaP7HyjzWh7bz1pM8FT9ukgNPnMmizWqBfTVvOf5rkh5fVr1y7ZeD54PYzvFCRswBOOnXj8Z8DLVH3d4Y4z3ClwsPHwWj_Y3h3Lh4bdeUqPdhEHSCDou0uJJHT15AVvTzwjlbh1C6lVIomM3HyokUx0_V8GD44WiPfwp01TPcNjTe090UupxS8SEr4

[TomVilmer]

4. ... but two bloody bastards made Irish peace possible

John Hume was a peaceful giant, also by helping to join the wills of two of the most bloody bastards, that had made the civil war go on for so long: Ian Paisley from the Democratic Unionist Party and Martin McGuinness from Sinn Fein and the IRA. They had literally been fighting each other for years, before they joined their powers to create a working peace for Northern Ireland.

In 2006, the St. Andrews Agreement laid out terms for devolution of some power to Northern Ireland, and as part of the deal, the DUP and Sinn Fein would have to share power. Upon its ratification in 2007, Paisley became first minister—and his deputy was none other than Martin McGuinness.

To their own surprise, they also discovered they enjoyed each other’s company, though their politics remained far apart—Paisley was unstinting in his commitment to Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom, while McGuinness never gave up the dream of a united Ireland.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/martin-mcguinness-ian-paisley/520257/

[bottomofthehill]

5. McGinniss was clearly one of the Hard Men

He had a different look.Adams may have been the face ( blocked from seeing for years) but McGinniss was clearl a button pusher.