SF at UDP Conference - in Portugal
Tina Tully, from Cavan, recently represented Sinn Fein at the
12th Congress of the UDP, a socialist political party in
Portugal, and had the opportunity of meeting with the President
of the Portuguese Parliament.
The UDP Congress (the equivalent of an Irish Ard Fheis) was held
in Lisbon on 6-7 June. A number of other countries and parties
were represented, including Norway, Denmark, Poland, Canada,
Brazil, Catalonia and Galacia. The main centres of attention
were, however, the delegates from East Timor and from Sinn Fein,
both of whom were given the opportunity to address the Congress.
The two main questions were around the potential of the Good
Friday Document to bring about lasting peace, and concern that
the issue of decommissioning was not allowed to obstruct
progress. Questions were asked about the numbers of political
prisoners and their release was viewed as critical. In addition,
there was great interest in the situation on the ground; how the
presence of the border affects people's everyday lives. The
Orange Order marches that take place were clearly viewed as
triumphalist, not cultural, by many of those present.
Tully met the President of the Portuguese Parliament, who was
keen to know about the situation in Ireland and that peace would
remain. He asked that any help that was required from him be
brought to the attention of the UDP in Lisbon and he invited any
future SF representatives to meet with him. This was followed
with interviews by press agents for the media. Their questions
centred on the potential of the Good Friday Document, the
upcoming Assembly elections and the decommissioning issue.
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