Republican News · Thursday 25 September 2002

TDs and Assembly members meet to advance all-Ireland agenda

A meeting of Sinn Féin TDs and Assembly members was held in Belfast on Tuesday in what party chair Mitchel McLaughlin said was "part of a broader initiative inside and outside the party to advance the case for Irish unity.

"Sinn Féin is the only all-Ireland party. We are the only party with a strategy and policies for achieving Irish unity and independence," he said. "We are the only party that people can vote for whether they live in Derry, Kerry, Wexford or Antrim.

"Tuesday's inaugural meeting of the party's TDs and Assembly members is a crucial part of our all-Ireland political agenda. It is also part of a broader initiative inside and outside the party to advance the case for Irish unity. Over the next three months, the party will be holding an all-Ireland elected representatives conference and will be working with others to bring forward a Green Paper on Irish Unity in Leinster House, as part of our commitment to build an Alliance for Irish Unity."

McLaughlin reaffirmed his belief that the Good Friday Agreement presents Sinn Féin with a real opportunity to redress the mistakes of the past together and build a new democracy based on the needs and requirements of all the people of Ireland.

"I also believe that we are well on our way to bringing about the reunification of Ireland," he said. "That being the case, it is incumbent on all of us to prepare for the eventuality of Irish Unity. It is important that we begin to discuss what this means for all of us on the island and for the Irish and British governments to have in place plans and mechanisms to ensure the smooth transfer of sovereignty when the time arrives."

While in Belfast, the TDs also visited the Short Strand to meet with local residents.