THE following is the text of the interview by the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, on BBC television last night
Interviewer: Where have the events of the last week left Northern Ireland?
Taoiseach: Well, I think people look to a police force and to a government in any democracy to be impartial, not to be willing to yield to pressure and, on all three counts, the forces of law and the Government failed in Northern Ireland in the last few days. There has been clearly a yielding to pressure from a very, very large and increasing number of people and the RUC and the army yielded to pressure. There's no other way of putting it. They gave into pressure and that's something that should never happen.
Secondly, they were inconsistent. At the beginning of the week they were willing to say that the march should not go through but then, when the pressure became large enough, the march was let through despite the provocation that that obviously involved in the Garvaghy Road. And I believe there's also some evidence of lack of impartiality in the way that individuals were treated when the residents were being removed from the road and in the protection of some areas subsequently from rioting and intimidation which has been unfortunately visited on many Catholic families in the last 24 to 48 hours.
Interviewer: So do you place the responsibility directly on the shoulders of the British Government?
Taoiseach: I do.
Interviewer: What do you say to the Chief Constable's point that, if he had continued to prevent the march taking place, the loyalists had mustered so much force that there was great danger of heavy loss of life?
Taoiseach: I believe that once a Government makes a decision in a democracy under the rule of law that it is going to hold a particular line, it must hold that line. If governments are seen to yield to that sort of pressure then governments will not be taken seriously in the future.
It's very difficult to make the case that governments will adhere strongly to their positions if, under this sort of pressure, the British Government and the RUC yielded."
Interviewer: You've spelled out these complaints in some detail personally to John Major. Officials say these conversations were "difficult and frank". How difficult? How frank? What did you say to him?
Taoiseach: I said to the Prime Minister exactly what I'm saying to you now a state cannot afford to yield to force a state cannot afford to be inconsistent a state a democratic state cannot afford to be partial in the way it applies the law and I'm afraid we have seen all three basic canons of democracy breached in this instance.
Interviewer: Where does this leave the peace process? Gerry Adams was saying this afternoon it leaves it in absolute ruins.
Taoiseach: I believe that the peace process depends on politicians who support democracy all the time not on an a la carte basis who support non violence all the time not just when it suits them taking their courage in their hands and proceeding to make agreements.
I also believe that we've got to deal with the problem of provocative marches once and for all. I believe we need an independent commission. It's a political matter. It's not a matter that can be suitably decided by a police constable, the matter of deciding which parades go ahead and which parades should not go ahead.
I believe that the governments must reassert their authority, the authority of the British Government having been damaged, I believe, in a very serious way by the concession that was made here to the Orange Order in this matter.
The events of this week have done a great deal of damage damage in the sense that the government, British government was not seen to be firm in the face of the threat of disorder from the Orange Order.
And I believe that that lack of firmness by the British Government was a very serious mistake. I believe it is a mistake that can be rectified but it would be foolish to pretend that serious damage has not been done.