Religious and Ethnic Divisions

The ethnic division in Northern Ireland has been an ongoing issue in that state for most of its modern history and it has only gotten to calm down in the past few years. The easing of the problem in Northern Ireland has mostly been solved through dialogue that has taken place between the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland was mostly based on religious beliefs, that is, the Catholic Irish in opposition to the Protestant Irish. These two respective groups have had support from some outside states, with the Catholics, being Irish nationalists fighting for a union with the Republic Ireland, and the Protestants fighting for remaining within the United Kingdom. These differences developed over time into serious divisions within the society with many people who had lived side by side all their lives turning against and at times killing each other (Wolff, S, 2001).

The situation in Northern Ireland can be comparable to that which is happening in Rwanda and it is our belief that the solutions which were applied in Ireland are also applicable to that in Rwanda. It is therefore the best thing for the people of Rwanda, whether Hutu or Tutsi, to settle their differences through dialogue because all other means of bringing a peaceful solution to the conflict are bound to fail (King, E, 2005). Dialogue should be made the most paramount means of conflict resolution and it should be encouraged within the society. Since the current president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, came to power, peace has returned to the country through his government’s encouragement of dialogue and a return of friendship between the two major ethnic groups in the country.