SINN FÉIN leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness are continuing to pressurise dissident republican paramilitary groups to try to explain why they are engaging in “futile” acts of violence.
So far only one of the groups that engage in or refuse to condemn the violence has responded.
Over recent days Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in statements, on Mr Adams’s blog and in media interviews have challenged the dissidents to try to explain why they murdered PSNI constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh last Saturday week.
They made their comments as the PSNI continues to question three men in connection with the murder. Today one of the men will have been held for seven days but under the Terrorism Act the period of detention without charge can run for up to 28 days. Police were continuing searches in the Omagh area yesterday.
The British and Irish governments meanwhile have repeated that they are not in contact with dissident paramilitaries notwithstanding a reassertion by Mr McGuinness and other senior Sinn Féin figures that such contact exists.
Mr Adams said he wanted to point out to the dissidents “the futility of armed actions in the Ireland of 2011 and to discuss the political space that is open for you to move into”. He added, “I make that offer again”.
Mr McGuinness said dissident republican groups did not have the self-confidence to debate their position with others. “We have been writing to these people, we have sent messages to these people. They’re not under any illusions whatsoever about our willingness to speak to them. There has been no deficiency on our side in terms of trying to make contact,” he said.
He said on UTV that dissident violence was also linked in part to the forthcoming Assembly and local government elections on May 5th. Attacks “will continue over the next couple of weeks, and be designed to try to disrupt the democratic process”, he said.
Des Dalton, president of Republican Sinn Féin, viewed as the political wing of the Continuity IRA, said his organisation would not talk to the “surrogates” of “British rule” in Northern Ireland. “From that point of view we have nothing to say to the Provisionals,” he said.
On the murder of Constable Kerr, Mr Dalton added, “We’ve made our position very, very clear: as long as there is British rule in Ireland there will be people who are willing to oppose it . . .”
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement and the Republican Network for Unity, also mentioned by Mr Adams, could not be contacted yesterday.
Breandan MacCionnaith, general secretary of Éirigi, to whom Mr Adams also referred, accused Mr Adams of “felon-setting”. He said Éirígí was “not aligned to or supportive of any armed groups or their actions”.