A ring of steel surrounds Northern Ireland’s capital city as the province prepares for U.S. President Joe Biden’s first ever official visit.
Roads have been closed and footpaths blockaded as specialist Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers search drains and other areas.
More than 300 officers from the rest of the UK have been drafted in to help police the presidential visit.
Rows of marked and unmarked police and security vehicles line the streets surrounding the Ulster University area where Biden is set to make a keynote speech on Wednesday.
He is due to touch down in the province on Tuesday evening where he will be greeted off Air Force One by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Biden is also expected to meet with Northern Ireland’s main political parties despite an ongoing government deadlock.
Biden ruled out a visit to Stormont buildings over the political impasse, caused by the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP’s) refusal to accept post-Brexit trading checks.
‘American Influence’
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme on Tuesday, Blair—who played a key part in securing the 1998 peace deal—said the “American influence” on Northern Ireland had to be used with “care and with sensitivity.”“I obviously had a very close relationship with President [Bill] Clinton outside of the peace process, but I found him immensely helpful,” he said.
“He would immediately understand strategically what was important and what wasn’t and the Americans can play an important part of this, but you’ve just got to be, you’ve got to insert them at the right moment and in the right place.”
Blair said it was important for the current prime minister and U.S. president to have a good relationship in the ongoing issues surrounding Northern Ireland.
“The Americans can play a real role but it’s something that you need to do carefully because there’s a difference between influencing and pressurising, and the one tends to be positive and the other can be negative.”
Writing on Twitter on Monday, Biden said: “25 years ago, Northern Ireland’s leaders chose peace.
“The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement ended decades of violence and brought stability.
“I look forward to marking the anniversary in Belfast, underscoring the U.S. commitment to preserving peace and encouraging prosperity.”
Ongoing Security Alert
The PSNI warned last week it had received “strong community intelligence” that dissident republicans were planning to carry out some form of attack on police officers ahead of the Biden visit.Some disturbances broke out in the Derry city area of the province following an anti-agreement republican parade on Easter Monday.
Youths fired petrol bombs and missiles at police, but the disorder was largely contained in the nationalist Creggan estate.
On Tuesday morning, the PSNI launched a large scale security operation surrounding the grounds of Derry’s city cemetery where Monday’s republican parade had taken place.
Two robots, usually deployed to examine suspicions objects, were seen moving within the site.
One small funeral was facilitated at the cemetery during the closure.
Commenting on the security operation, Foyle MP Colum Eastwood wrote on Twitter: “People can’t get to the graves of their loved because of the actions of a few with no political mandate and no support.
“Hoping the city cemetery is made safe as soon as possible.”
There has been no official confirmation on the ongoing security operation by police.
However, it is not expected to impact on Biden’s Belfast visit.
‘Great Buzz’
Biden is expected to leave Northern Ireland following his keynote speech on Wednesday to attend events in the Republic of Ireland.He will carry out a number of engagements during his four-day stay, including visits to two Irish counties from where his ancestors hail.
After leaving Belfast city, the president will cross the border to attend engagements in County Louth.
Biden has traced his ancestral roots to the area where he will tour Carlingford Castle before spending the night in Dublin.
He is then expected to visit Irish President Michael D. Higgins on Thursday.
It has been announced that Dublin’s Phoenix Park will be closed for 24 hours from 5 p.m. on Wednesday to facilitate the visit.
Higgins’s official residence is within the park’s grounds.
The White House said Biden will take part in a tree-planting ceremony and ringing of the Peace Bell at the president’s official residence, Aras an Uachtarain.
Following that ceremony, he will meet again with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, whom Biden recently hosted for St. Patrick’s Day.
The president will address the Irish Parliament and attend a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle on Thursday evening.
His trip will conclude with a visit to County Mayo, where he has also connected with distant cousins, on Friday.
He will tour the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock and visit the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Centre’s family history research unit.
He will then make a public speech at St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s visit, Joe Blewitt, a third cousin of Biden, said there is a “great buzz” in the area.
“We are building the stage at the moment,” said on Tuesday.
“I am very excited, there is a great buzz all around the town. It has just been crazy.
“The town will never have known anything like it, it is just great.”
