CORRECTS - Northern Ireland always to find ways to bridge gaps among people, says Biden

CORRECTS MONTH OF CALDWELL'S ATTEMPTED MURDER TO FEBRUARY

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) — There will always be ways to bring people together in Northern Ireland, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

Biden, who was on a visit to Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, was referring to the attempted murder of a police officer in February that all political parties in Northern Ireland condemned in unison.

"Northern Ireland will not go back," Biden said during his speech at the Ulster University on Wednesday, suggesting previous levels of violence should not return.

Speaking highly of preserving the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal signed 25 years ago to help end 30 years of violence, Biden said Northern Ireland was "transformed" and "made whole" by peace.

He said the 25 "extraordinary years" should be celebrated by recommitting to renewal and repair and by making upholding peace for "every child of Northern Ireland for all the days to come."

Commenting on the UK's departure from the EU, Biden said Brexit created "complex challenges" in Northern Ireland. He vowed to "encourage" leaders in the UK and EU to address the issues in a way that served Northern Ireland's best interests.

In February, Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times by two gunmen while putting footballs into his vehicle after training a group of young players in Omagh.

Following the assassination attempt, party leaders released a surprise joint statement to condemn "the enemies of our peace."

Having failed to sustain a stable cross-community government for the past six years, the politicians were able to set aside their usually high tensions to express that they were "outraged and sickened by this reprehensible and callous attempted murder."

Hours before Biden's arrival in the capital Belfast on Tuesday, police recovered four suspected pipe bombs inside a cemetery in the city of Londonderry following a public safety operation.

The operation at Creggan City Cemetery was launched after the first of the suspected pipe bombs was discovered earlier in the day, with three more found following subsequent searches on the cemetery grounds, the police said in a statement.

Biden's trip comes two weeks after MI5 said the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland had increased to "severe" due to a rise in activity by dissident republicans. An attack is judged "highly likely" when the threat level is "severe."

"In recent months, we have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland Related Terrorism, which has targeted police officers serving their communities and also put at risk the lives of children and other members of the public," Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris said.

A New Year's message from the New Irish Republican Army (IRA) dissident group caused concern as it pledged to "use all means at its disposal" to end British rule in Ireland.

"As we enter 2023, Ireland remains under occupation and our national sovereignty is denied by a foreign government," said the Jan. 2 message from the New IRA, a splinter group formed after the disarmament of the IRA.