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Brexit deal shakes Northern Irish unionists

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AFP Belfast
Last Updated : Oct 20 2019 | 10:40 PM IST

In the staunchly pro-British Shankill area of Belfast, Northern Irish unionists worry that the new Brexit deal threatens to loosen ties with mainland Britain that are the cornerstone of their identity.

In this stronghold of unionism, UK flags flutter over the streets and murals commemorate loyalist paramilitaries who died for the cause.

The site of gun battles and bombings, the west Belfast neighbourhood has spilt blood to preserve its links with the mainland.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) supports Brexit and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government -- but bitterly opposes his EU divorce deal.

Johnson's plans would see the province stay aligned with the European Union in areas such as food standards and sales tax rules -- to smooth the flow of goods across the currently invisible border with EU member the Republic of Ireland.

The DUP fears they would effectively create a new border with mainland Britain down the Irish Sea, and lock Northern Ireland in closer with the Republic -- everything unionism stands against.

DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said the deal would do "a great deal of damage to the union".

He said Sunday: "We want to leave as one nation. That remains our goal."
"We hope that we don't have to fight for this."
"The majority of the people in Northern Ireland will soon be Roman Catholic, that's just the way the country's going."

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First Published: Oct 20 2019 | 10:40 PM IST

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