John Hume, the Roman Catholic architect of Northern Ireland's 1998 Good Friday peace agreement who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending 30 years of sectarian violence has died, aged 83. "John Hume was a political titan; a visionary who refused to believe the future had to be the same as the past. His contribution to peace in Northern Ireland was epic," former British prime minister Tony Blair, in office at the time of the Good Friday accord, said in a statement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Hume a "political giant" and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said he was a "great hero" for the Irish people. "When others were stuck in the ritual politics of condemnation John Hume had the courage to take real risks for peace," Adams said in a statement.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 03, 2020 22:41 UTC