Historical calendar/What happened on September 25?

2023-09-25 10:29:00, Blog CNA

2005 - The IRA is officially disarmed

Two months after announcing its intention to disarm, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is set to surrender its weapons to a commission of independent inspectors. The dismantling of this group's considerable arsenal took place in several secret locations in the Republic of Ireland.

A Protestant priest and a Catholic priest, as well as officials from Finland and the United States witnessed the historic event. Among the weapons were automatic weapons, ammunition, rockets and explosives. Originally founded in 1919 to militarily oppose British rule in Ireland, the IRA operated from the 1960s as the military wing of the
Irish nationalist political party Sinn Fein.

The IRA (and its splinter factions using various derivatives of the name), used terrorist tactics and assassinations for more than 30 years in their struggle to liberate Northern Ireland from British rule. In April 1998, after more than 22 months of negotiations, a peace agreement was finally signed that went down in history as the
Belfast Agreement or Good Friday.

Endorsed by the British and Irish governments, 8 of Northern Ireland's 10 political parties and the region's voters, the agreement provided for power-sharing between Catholics and Protestants in government, a commitment to peace and democracy, and a pledge that the paramilitary groups of both the parties to hand over their weapons within 2 years.

At first the IRA refused to hand over their weapons. This approach blocked the peace process for almost 6 years. Although many Protestants in Northern Ireland did not believe the IRA would actually give up all its weapons, the disarmament represented an important step towards lasting peace in the long-troubled region. In fact, even after disarmament, separate factions of the IRA threatened to continue the violence.

Other important events:
1789 - The United States Congress passed 12 amendments to the Constitution, sending them to the states for ratification. The amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were designed to protect the fundamental rights of American citizens, guaranteeing them freedom of speech, media, assembly and exercise of religion; the right to a fair trial, as well as the right to bear arms.

1926- The famous American industrialist, Henry Ford, announces the 5-day work week in his car manufacturing company.
1938 - US President Franklin Roosevelt initiates talks between Adolf Hitler and Czechoslovakian President Edvard Benes on the issue of the Sudetenland.
1943 - The Red Army liberates Smolensk from the German army, which begins its retreat from the Soviet Union across the Dnieper River.
1956 - The first underwater telephone service between the United States and Europe begins operating. Two cables laid under the Atlantic Ocean guaranteed a clearer communication between the two continents.

1959 - US President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev held face-to-face talks. They reached a general agreement on a number of issues./ Adapted in Albanian by CNA