Republican News · Thursday 28 November 2002

Morgan at Madchester

Louth Sinn Féin deputy Arthur Morgan attended his first meeting of the British Irish Inter Parliamentary Body in Manchester this week.

Morgan's contributions ruffled many feathers at the meetings and sessions in what was a combative and bruising encounter for the Tory zealots who, not content with undermining the peace process, also sought to question Sinn Féin's rights as a political party.

Phoblacht's ROBBIE MacGABHANN spoke to Arthur about his two days on the counter punch in Manchester.

In the first plenary session on Monday morning, there was what Morgan described as a "frenzy" of contributions from a "mixed bag" of pro-unionists, all attacking the IRA and calling for its disbandment and other items "from their latest wish list".

In his contribution to the body, Morgan reminded the representatives that "it was the British Prime Minister, through his agent in the North, who suspended the institutions". It was, said Morgan, "the British government, not Sinn Fein and not even the IRA, who brought down the Assembly and Executive". Morgan questioned too the position legally of the Dublin government, which, by acquiescing to the suspension of institutions, had allowed the British government to break an international treaty.

Morgan told the body that the IRA had taken many initiatives and even in recent weeks had asserted yet again that they posed no threat to the peace process. In probably the most unparliamentary language of the meeting, Morgan told the representatives to "catch yourselves on and get real".

Going back to the role played by Tony Blair in contributing to the current crisis in the peace process, Morgan said that it was Blair in his recent Belfast speech who had admitted that he had not implemented the Good Friday Agreement in the way expected of him and that communities like those living in the Short Strand had seen no dividend from it.

Morgan said that efforts by anti-Agreement parties to renegotiate the Agreement would not succeed. Responding to overzealous Tory MPs, one of whom thought it was "unsuitable" for Sinn Féin representatives to hold office, Morgan said that, "in the 1970s they were the very people calling on Sinn Féin to contest elections and "get a mandate". Well we did get our mandate and I'm here on that mandate, and whether or not you like it, I will continue to represent that position".

There was also a debate on the issue of Sellafield, which gave Morgan the chance to end some of the misinformation on the Thorp and MOX reprocessing facilities in the complex.

Morgan said: "We know that under contracts signed, countries who send radioactive waste to Sellafield are obliged also to take it back. Sellalfield should not be the dumping site for the world's nuclear waste, thus increasing the risk of leakage, terrorist attack or even spillage by the incompetent management and staff at the BNFL plant."