ger and deep, deep determination
Brian Campbell was in Liberty Hall on Monday night to
hear the Sinn Féin leadership make a rousing call for
people-power
A day of high political drama ended with a surging
display of confidence and determination from a packed
political meeting in Dublin's Liberty Hall. It was a
fitting end to a day full of historic symbolism.
There was something significant that attempts to expel
Sinn Féin from peace talks in Dublin Castle - the
former seat of British rule in Ireland - should be
followed by this call to mobilise the power of the
people in Liberty Hall, a site with links to Ireland's
great radical movements - national, labour and women.
``They made one sad miscalculation today,'' Gerry Adams
told the crowd. ``They thought they could bring us into
Dublin Castle, kick us in the arse and send us home
again. That's where they underestimated the commitment
of our party and our constituents and our supporters to
building a proper peace process, a real peace process.''
His speech summed up the anger and deep, deep
determination which have gripped republicans and
nationalists in these last few days.
It also seemed significant that as 800 people were
giving a standing ovation to the Sinn Féin talks team
inside the hall, another meeting was taking place
outside.
Three hundred had been unable to get in and Gerry Kelly
addressed them on the steps of the building. As he
finished applause and cheers rang out through the cold
night in Dublin city centre.
Inside, the standing ovation lasted several minutes as
members of Sinn Féin's talks team and candidates in the
forthcoming by-elections, Paul Donnelly and Jenny
Shapland, were introduced.
``We initiated these talks. If we're out, then the talks
are over,'' Martin McGuinness said. ``Now, in order to
make the process a success we need
people-participation, we need people all over our
island to face up to what is required to resolve this
conflict.
``There is a responsibility on each and every single
person living on this island to take ownership of this
peace process, to be part of it, to be part of
challenging what the British and the Unionists are
doing by forcing the British to face up to the equality
agenda which is required if we are to have any hope of
resolving conflict on this island.''
He spoke about the complete lack of engagement by
Unionists. ``We have bent over backwards and what we
have been rewarded with is a blank wall of Unionist
intransigence. And it is now time to tell the British
government to face up to the intransigence of the
Unionist leadership.
``It is now time for the British government to tell
David Trimble, Ian Paisley and Robert McCartney and all
the rest of them that the only way forward in this
process is through inclusive, meaningful decent
negotiations. And if the British government isn't
prepared to do that, this British government, under
Tony Blair and Mo Mowlam will fail this process because
we need - we demand, we're entitled to - fundamental
political and constitutional change. We're entitled to
be treated, not as second-class citizens in our own
country but as first class Irish men and women. Because
that's what we are. I'm not a second-class MP. Gerry
Adams isn't a second-class MP. The people we represent
are not second-class people. We have spent our entire
lives struggling for justice, for equality, for peace
and for freedom on this island.
``The next few weeks are going to be critical and
crucial on that long, hard road. But with the support
of the people of Ireland we can bring about all of
those things. We're absolutely confident that we can
bring about all of those things because it's the people
- it's the power of the people, it's the message they
send to political leaders that make governments change
their policy, change their attitudes, change their
strategies.
``There is a real opportunity for peace on this island.
Have no doubt or question about that whatsoever. We
want you to be part of it.''
The theme of people power, of `taking ownership of the
peace process' was repeated in Gerry Adams's speech.
``Tomorrow there's going to be an attempt to dump our
party out of these talks,'' he said. ``There was an
attempt today and it failed but they're coming back
tomorrow to try the same thing again. And say we are
dumped out, tomorrow or the day after or whenever, what
do we do about it? What can you do about it? Do you
seethe at the TV screen? Do you get annoyed at what's
going on? How do you in some way get involved in
sorting it out?''
He spoke about the need for people to make the space to
contribute in their own way. They could wear a green
ribbon, persuade others to do the same. Everyone had to
find their own way to contribute,
``In terms of the big picture, think beyond May. Think
beyond this year. Think beyond next year. What kind of
Ireland do we want? Do we want an Ireland which in
perpetuity is going to be divided? Do we want an
Ireland in which the most reactionary elements are
central to the entire life of the island and all its
aspects? Do we want forever to live in a situation
where nationalists are divided from Unionists? Do we
want one third of our people here in this state to live
below the poverty level? Do we want this city
contaminated by the scourge of drugs?
``What sort of an island do we want? And how do you go
about changing that? Because those of us who live in
the North would still be living under the heel and
under the euphemism of `croppies lie down' if we hadn't
decided in 1968 that enough is enough, that we were no
longer going to be treated as second-class citizens.
And similarly in this situation here, people here need
to take ownership because as a political activist I
have grown to learn that what politics has to be about
is empowering people. What politics has to be about is
bringing about a situation where people in all the
social, economic and cultural space can actually take
charge of it. Are any of the big parties going to bring
about those changes? ...So think beyond what is going
to happen in the next few days.
``In terms of the party politics - I come into Dublin
and there's no difference in the social conditions of
the people of this city and of the city I come from...
but in West Belfast there is a Sinn Féin MP. There's no
Sinn Féin TD in Dublin. But for those of you who are
interested we're fighting an election and that man Paul
Donnelly is fighting in Dublin so if people want to do
something in terms of giving a party political effort,
of sending a very clear message then you get involved
in his campaign.
``If the middle class areas of Dublin had been hit with
the contamination of the drugs scourge, would it have
been tolerated? If the communities had not mobilised
against drugs would there even be the type of efforts
to bring some sort of pressure to resolve it? So the
lesson in all of that is that the people of Dublin or
the Six Counties or nationally have to find - have to
find - some space in this struggle.
``You should decide tonight that you are going to do
something, no matter how small it is. In this city.
It's your struggle. And you're going to shape it out
yourselves, the bit you want done. Which means all
sorts of things become possible. No Irish government
would dare to make the type of constitutional changes
the Unionists want if you people were alert and
vigilant on that issue. No British government could
afford not to make the type of constitutional
arrangements which are required if you people were
vigilant and alert to the possibilities of that. They
couldn't even suggest that the prisoners should be kept
in jail one day longer if you people were active on
that.''
Paul Donnelly told the crowd that the struggle is not
just about equality of treatment for people in the
North, ``it's also about the people of the South. It's
about equality of treatment for people on issues like
housing - you just have to drive around the north inner
city to see the terrible housing in the area. Also it's
about unemployment. You have the Celtic Tiger but there
are serious problems. And also low pay. We're in
Liberty Hall, the seat of trade unionism and we look at
Ryanair and the type of companies that are coming into
Ireland which are denying the right of Irish people to
join trade unions. That is an absolute disgrace.''
In questions from the floor it was clear what the mood
of the audience was. The party which had initiated the
peace process was now being expelled without any
evidence that they had dishonoured any of their
commitments.
Gerry Adams answered one question by analysing what had
happened in the past days and repeating that Sinn Féin
would be put off their peace strategy. ``Unionists know
in their bones that change is inevitable and their
political leadership is resisting that change. And
Unionists are not just confined to the UUP. The RUC has
been the armed wing of Unionism. And all the leadership
of Unionism has seized on these two killings and
exploited them to resist change. And in all of this
there is a need to focus on the big picture: there
cannot be peace without change and there will continue
to be resistance to change. We should not be deflected
or shouldered off the process by anything that happens.''
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