Republican News · Thursday 8 May 2003

IRA anger at abuse of trust

Adams calls for June elections

BY JOANNE CORCORAN

"The most important thing to say today is that Mr Blair's decision to stop the elections is a serious mistake and a slap in the face to the Good Friday Agreement."

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams made his point very clear at a press conference in London yesterday. He was speaking a day after the publication of the IRA statement that the British and Dublin governments have tried to use as a reason for the suspension of elections in the Six Counties.

The leadership of the IRA also issued a second statement on Tuesday night, criticising the London and Dublin governments and accusing them of mischievously leaking and misrepresenting "concepts and drafts" associated with its first statement. This statement said that the army had in fact being waiting for agreement and had been prepared to act immediately on putting a quantity of munitions beyond use, with preparations at an advanced stage.

The Sinn Féin leader insisted at the media gathering that Tony Blair should reverse his decision to suspend the elections, saying that there was no reason why they couldn't go ahead in June.

"It's as if the rule book for conflict resolution has been torn up," he said. "Peace requires justice and peace processes are about empowering people, are about a rights-centred disposition and are about making politics work."

Making reference to the current impasse, he said: "So where is the peace process now? We have on the one hand a Joint Declaration from the governments that is not an act of completion but a qualified plan to implement over years the rights and entitlements of citizens. Despite its conditionality, this is progress.

"But the two governments, also stepped outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and introduced in their Joint Declaration, a further concession to Mr Trimble in respect of sanctions. This process of excluding ministers and parties is specifically aimed at Sinn Féin, and is to be used against us in the event of any allegations about IRA activities."

Adams contrasted this approach to the IRA's actions in support of the process.

"On the other hand, we have an IRA leadership that is determined there will be no activities which will undermine in any way the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement; that has clearly stated its willingness to proceed with the implementation of a process to put arms beyond use at the earliest opportunity, and despite the suspension of the institutions authorised a third act of putting arms beyond use to be verified under the agreed scheme by the IICD."

He also said that the IRA has accepted that the if the two governments and all the parties fulfil their commitments, this will provide the basis for the complete and final closure of the conflict and that this too is significant progress.

The Sinn Féin leader said that no one should underestimate the significance of the IRA engaging with the IICD (Independent International Commission on Decommissioning) while the institutions are suspended, or the IRA's willingness to undertake another act of putting arms beyond use.

"This followed a suggestion by me to facilitate David Trimble's stated intention of calling a UUC meeting only after the IRA acted on the arms issue. The sequence of events was to be the Joint Declaration and a statement from me in response to this, pointing up the difficulty caused by David Trimble's refusal to commit to being part of institutions.

"He was then to publicly commit himself to recommending participation in the institutions to the UUC. This public pledge would have triggered the IRA putting more arms beyond use."

Adams also pointed out that the IRA had in fact been waiting for the process to start moving, but had been left waiting.

"When the IRA say their arrangements were at an advanced stage they mean that Volunteers sat for days with a substantial amount of equipment waiting for a yes from the UUP or the British government. That yes never came.

"So with the UUP implacably opposed to progress at this point and a British government willing to exercise a unionist veto, we now face into a period of political uncertainty."

He concluded by saying that Sinn Féin is in the peace process to the end.

"Our objective in the time ahead will be to campaign to have elections held, and to hold the two governments to the commitments which we negotiated with them over many months and which are in the Joint Declaration.

He re-emphasised that the substance of the commitments in the Joint Declaration and of those contained within the Good Friday Agreement is about the rights and entitlements of citizens.

"It is about a new political dispensation on the island of Ireland and a new relationship between Ireland and Britain. It is about change-fundamental and deep-rooted change - including constitutional and institutional change across all aspects of society."