Ford comments ahead of 10th anniversary of Good Friday Agreement

3.52.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 9th Apr 2008

Alliance Leader David Ford has issued a statement on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

David Ford said: "The Agreement was heralded as a turning point for Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, nobody forecast that turning all political parties towards power-sharing would be like turning an oil tanker with a full load. Its contents are still highly flammable and the tanker is slow and unresponsive.

"We had the Agreement in 1998, yet devolution took a long time to return, and still looks fragile from time to time. Even with the return of power to Stormont, we have seen next to no progress on removing sectarianism and segregation from our streets.

"Paramilitary violence may have dramatically decreased, but we still hear of sectarian attacks on an almost daily basis.

"Politicians from the DUP and Sinn Fein may now be pulling the levers of power in Stormont, but when will they make progress on creating united community? We have seen no collective government and little radical thought within this Executive.

"Massive progress has been made since 1998 on ending paramilitary violence, but the deep prejudices which stoked the fires of the troubles have not been extinguished. These fires can only be put out if the Executive makes tackling segregation a key priority."

ENDS