Sinn Fein is totally committed to the implementation of the Good Friday agreement in all its aspects. We believe that the wholehearted implementation of the agreement has the capacity to transform the existing situation through constructive and dynamic political development.
It is a matter of the deepest regret and frustration to Sinn Fein, and indeed to all who voted for the agreement on May 22nd last year, that the process of implementation has been repeatedly stalled.
In this context, much attention has been paid to the arms issue. Let me make it clear that our objective is to achieve total disarmament and the complete removal of all weapons from politics in Ireland. In my opinion, decommissioning will come about when, collectively, we have created the conditions for it to be undertaken. The issue of arms must be finally and satisfactorily settled. It cannot be used to disenfranchise citizens or to deny them their rights and entitlements.
This issue is addressed directly in the Good Friday agreement. All parties to the agreement have an obligation under its terms to help to bring decommissioning about. Sinn Fein is committed to discharging its responsibilities in this regard. As an earnest of that commitment, we appointed Martin McGuinness as our representative to meet the de Chastelain commission, and he has done so constructively.
Our party has put forward a series of initiatives on this issue. The latest of these, the last of these, was rejected twice last week by the UUP.
The arms issue is, of course, also a symptom of the wider conflict.
We acknowledge that there are real concerns and fears surrounding the issue of arms and, in the interests of stability, these must be addressed in resolving the issue.
There are valid and strongly held reasons why many on all sides view the decommissioning issue with deep suspicion and why for them this issue is surrounded by such profound difficulty. But the rejection by the UUP of the Sinn Fein initiative and the refusal by unionism to abide by the Good Friday agreement on this matter is yet more evidence that for many unionists the real problem is their refusal to share power with Catholics. To quote one, they "don't want to see a Fenian about the place". They are using the arms issue to ensure this.
On the other hand, the immediate and ongoing concern to Catholics and nationalists is the campaign of violence by loyalist groups, which has seen more than 160 bomb attacks and has resulted in 10 deaths by loyalists since the agreement was signed. In addition, scores of Catholics and nationalist families have been intimidated and burnt out of their homes.
The proliferation of licensed weapons - some 150,000 - in unionist hands is also an ongoing cause of concern to nationalists.
Self-evidently, we have all lost over a year, a critical period during which substantive progress could or should have been made on this issue and across a range of key issues.
Working With Unionists
The challenge for all of us is to break the cycle of mistrust and replace it with genuine mutual trust, so that everybody can go forward in confidence.
No section of our people has a monopoly on suffering. Republicans and nationalists have been victims of British state and loyalist violence. We recognise absolutely that the unionist section of our people have also suffered profoundly in this conflict. That suffering is a matter of deep regret. But it also makes the difficult process of removing conflict all the more necessary. Sinn Fein wishes to work with, not against, the unionists and we recognise this as yet another imperative.
For republicans, co-operation and accommodation are the objective of this process. Equality and partnership are the essence of the Good Friday agreement.
It is Sinn Fein's view that it is only through the full implementation of all elements of the agreement, and all the parties and two governments discharging their collective responsibility in regard to its terms, that the issue of arms under the aegis of the de Chastelain commission as set out in the agreement can be finally and satisfactorily settled.
This is the best guarantee that guns will never again have a role in the politics of this land.
Exclusion Not an Option
Mr Trimble is now insisting on an exclusion clause in the legislation promised by the British government to underpin the failsafe clause of last week's joint statement by the Irish and British governments. He wants to see the exclusion of Sinn Fein. But under the terms of the Good Friday agreement this is not possible. There is no question of the British government introducing legislation to expel Sinn Fein. Mr Blair knows this would be a breach of the Good Friday agreement.
He also knows that there can be no renegotiation of the agreement or of the propositions put forward by the two governments on Friday last. The Good Friday agreement review section is crystal-clear. There is no requirement for legislation at all beyond that already in place, and any British legislation has to be based on this review section. Mr Trimble knows this also. He also knows that Sinn Fein is serious when we say that we want this process to succeed. He can no longer delay the attainment of full rights and entitlements for that section of our people who have been denied these rights and entitlements for so long. Not if he is really committed to the Good Friday agreement.
So Sinn Fein looks forward to full participation in the new institutions, based on its mandate. In addition to the new all-Ireland institutions, our ministers will play a constructive part in the new Northern executive. The two Sinn Fein ministers will make and honour the pledge of office, including the commitment to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means.
Other elements of the agreement are outstanding. Human rights, justice and equality are central requirements. Policing is a key issue. The impact of demilitarisation on the day-to-day lives of people would be widespread. The promised British government strategy to give effect to this, as required by the agreement, is yet to be produced.
Meeting the Challenge
The two governments also, and in particular the British government, have a major responsibility in securing a satisfactory outcome to the issue of arms. Historically, the British government has been a hugely negative factor in the development of the conditions of conflict in Ireland. The conflict arises from the British government involvement in Irish affairs. It was the British government which brought the gun into Irish politics. It must now play a central role in the creation of a future on this island in which the gun has no place. This is the challenge which all of us in positions of political leadership face. I firmly believe that it is a challenge we can meet.
For Sinn Fein's part, I reiterate our total commitment to doing everything in our power to maintain the peace process and to removing the gun for ever from the politics of our country and, through our participation in all the new institutions, to creating a society in which there is total respect for Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter.
The initiative in the process to establish the new institutions rests with the British government.
Mr Blair has said the d'Hondt procedure to nominate ministers will be run on July 15th. The transfer of power will take effect on July 18th. This is not the first time that the British government has set a deadline. But this time the deadline must be kept. The UUP cannot for ever delay and prevaricate. The institutions must be established.
The choice for the British government and the UUP is simple. The unionist veto continues or the Good Friday agreement is implemented.
Gerry Adams MP is president of Sinn Fein
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