A SOMBRE Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath at a memorial for the victims of Ireland's independence struggle in a landmark gesture on the first visit by a British monarch to the Irish republic.
The 85-year-old began her historic four-day trip surrounded by Ireland's biggest ever security operation as the discovery of a bomb near Dublin underscored the lingering threat from dissident republicans.
Wearing white, the Queen appeared unperturbed as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Irish President Mary McAleese during the wreath-laying ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.
But the hushed atmosphere contrasted with the noisy scenes outside where several hundred republican protesters demonstrated against the Queen's visit and burned a British flag.
She is the first British sovereign to visit Ireland since it won independence from Britain in 1922, while the last monarch to come to the country was King George V, the Queen's grandfather, in 1911.
The neighbouring states have hailed the visit as a sign of the progress made in Anglo-Irish relations after the hard-won peace in British-ruled Northern Ireland following the 1998 Good Friday accord.
"I think it is an extraordinary moment in Irish history, a phenomenal sign and signal of the success of the peace process and absolutely the right moment for us to welcome (the Queen) onto Irish soil," Ms McAleese told RTE television.
A string of security alerts jangled nerves in Dublin, amid a recent rise in violence in Northern Ireland blamed on dissident republicans who oppose the peace process and want the province to join the Republic.
But the Queen appeared unperturbed by the security threats, dressed in the emerald green of her hosts and smiling broadly as she arrived with her husband Prince Philip at the Casement Aerodrome southwest of Dublin.
Around 10,000 Irish security forces are being deployed at an estimated cost of 30 million euros ($40.25 million).
At the Garden of Remembrance - one of the most sensitive moments of the trip - she stood with head bowed during a minute's silence at the memorial for those who died fighting for Irish freedom. The army band played God Save the Queen along with the Irish national anthem.
Outside, protesters torched the flags of Britain and Northern Ireland. They carried banners from various groups, including Sinn Fein, the political wing of the now-defunct Irish Republican Army (IRA), and the hardline republican 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment