Political strength is the key
BY MICHEAL MacDONNCHA
For the second time in a month one of the largest ever gatherings
of Sinn Féin activisits will convene in Dublin this weekend to
make momentous decisions on the future of the struggle for
freedom in Ireland. Everybody is conscious of the gravity of the
occassion. Events have been moving so fast of late that the word
`historic' has become hackneyed but, in its true sense, it
applies to the reconvened Ard Fheis of 1998.
This has been a period of intense political thought and debate
among republicans. During the negotiations themselves, at their
conclusion, and in the weeks since Good Friday, there has been
much heart-searching and brain-teasing by all who have committed
themselves to the freedom struggle. For many it has been a
painful time; for many also a time of tremendous hope and a will
to fulfil the full potential of Irish republicanism.
It is the will to win through to our ultimate objectives that
unites republicans. Whatever shade of opinion they express, those
who gather in Dublin this weekend will advocate their positions
on the basis of what is best for the struggle. They will accept
the democraitc outcome of their deliberations and work hard to
ensure the success of whatever course of action is decided.
At no time has there been a more united and a more politicised
republican struggle. The determination of republican activists
has been redoubled through years of struggle with deadly enemies
and remorseless opponents. The political consciousness of
republicans has been honed as they evolve new strategies and
tactics to reach our objectives of Irish unity and independence
and the social, economic and cultural transformation of Ireland.
The Good Friday document is far from the final settlement we
seek. There is much in it that disappoints. The core
constitutional issue of British jurisdiction and the unionist
veto has been affected - but not enough. The British government
has yet to make the vital leap to becoming a pro-active promoter
of Irish unity and of its own disengagement from Ireland.
At the same time it can be said that this document represents a
further weakening of the ties that bind the Six Counties to
Britain. And it has the potential - not in the text itself but in
the political scenario it creates - to provide new fields of
struggle for republicans where real gains, and real advances
towards our objectives, can be made.
If Sinn Féin had been politically stronger then obviously a much
better outcome to the last phase of negotiations would have
resulted. But that phase is over and new phase has begun. We must
increase our political strength in this phase as we did in the
last. Increasing political strength is the key.
Even opponents of Sinn Féin now openly admit that the party is
the fastest growing in Ireland and has more young people in its
ranks than any other. Of course these same opponents would love
desperately for Sinn Féin to buy into their kind of politics. The
politics of graft. The politics of short-termism. The politics of
personal advancement. The politics of the establishment. Some of
them even believe that this is the logic of the republican peace
strategy. Now, as at the height of conflict, they underestimate
the determination of republicans to reach their ultimate goal,
and they misunderstand fundamentally the nature of their
struggle.
Whatever direction Sinn Féin takes on Sunday, its integrity as a
republican party will remain the absolute priority for all
activists. United in that view they will go on to further and
greater successes in the period ahead.
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