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US envoy urges action. Richard Haass met Paul Murphy at Stormont on Friday The IRA has to make an historic change so that the Good Friday Agreement can be implemented, according to the US special envoy to Northern Ireland. Richard Haass was speaking following a series of meetings with Secretary of State Paul Murphy and then the Sinn Fein leadership on Friday afternoon at Stormont. Plans for the British and Irish prime ministers to unveil proposals for breaking the deadlock in the province were put on hold on Thursday. It is understood Downing Street was unhappy with the wording of a draft response from the IRA.
The two governments were in overnight contact with the pro-Agreement parties as efforts continued to rescue their blueprint for implementing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Mr Haass said there was an "extraordinary opportunity" but it was unclear how long such an opportunity could last in its current form. "My sense is that time is of the essence. "There is good reason to feel some urgency, and I urge them to do everything within their political power to persuade people in the IRA leadership to do what I think needs doing," he said.
Adams and McGuinness also know that if the IRA gives up its arms, Sinn Fein effectively loses its main bartering tool. One source said it was a "grand delusion" that the Government thought it could get the IRA to decommission. "What republicans are saying is we will still have guns under our belt." He added "What they realise is that once they give up violence and weapons they are nobody."
He said leaders of the Sinn Fein-IRA movement ``have been given a road map to democracy. I strongly urge them to heed the message and finally shake off the shadow of the gunman that has haunted this community for far too long.'' Sinn Fein declined immediate comment.
Sinn Fein/IRA underfire from everyone. Irish deputy prime minister Mary Harney has said Irish people are "tired of the myth that Sinn Fein and the IRA (are) separate". Tanaiste Harney was speaking at the opening of the Progressive Democrats annual conference in Galway on Friday.
Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said it was "clear that the IRA hasn't come up to the mark in terms of what was expected both in statement and IRA action".
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the current difficulties in the political process did not have to be terminal. He said problems had been caused by different parties and he criticised the two governments for what he called their "lack of good management".
Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley said the IRA had "made fools of the prime minister and the president". He said the failure to publish the blueprint proved it was the IRA "calling the shots".
Progressive Unionists leader David Ervine challenged Sinn Fein to produce the governments' proposals. "Sinn Fein know exactly what is in this document. If they believe that their constituency should be aware of its contents let them make it public. "To assume a position of denial, demanding that they should see a document they have already examined is sheer nonsense. It's role playing to the media in an attempt to transfer the current focus of pressure away from them."
Thousands OF Ulster Scots took part in a pro-war prayer vigil at Belfast City Hall yesterday, held to support the troops on the ground in Iraq. One intriguing aspect of how the Iraqi issue has infilitrated Ulster politics is how it seems the Protestants appear avowedly pro-war, praising the work of American and British troops, while the republicans and nationalists (Catholics) seem decidely anti.
Indeed, the debate got a little heated last night when Ulster Scots who attended the vigil in honour of the troops, decried Sinn Fein's "so-called" anti-war "prancing", saying: "These were people who were quite happy to kill for an ignoble cause, who were prepared to pursue a war to undermine democracy, and who now oppose the liberation of people and the freeing of them from what is undoubtedly an evil dictatorship."
The Ulster Flag, Union Flag and the Stars and Stripes were very much in evidence at the support the troops vigil, "I hope at least some snippets of this get an airing in the USA so that America can see for itself who is standing shoulder to shoulder with them" said one man from South Londonderry.
AT least one person was assaulted in disturbances prior to the demonstration in support of coalition soldiers on Iraq. "As the disturbance took place at the junction of Castle Street and Kings Street, police officers were employed to the scene, by which time the disturbance had finished." The spokesman stressed that police were not attributing the trouble to organisers of the rally, which passed off without incident.
Sinn Fein/IRA were today accused of trying to disrupt the US presidential visit after a series of bomb warnings caused traffic chaos around Belfast. Both Aldergrove, President Bush's arrival point, and Belfast City Airport were targeted in alerts.
A section of the M2 was also closed, with citybound traffic diverted from Fortwilliam. The Sydenham by-pass also had to be sealed off, as a result of the City Airport alert. Major congestion was caused by the closure of two of Belfast's major arterial routes. The knock-on effect from the diversions brought traffic to a standstill in and around the city centre. A PSNI spokeswoman today said the M2 alert was due to a telephone bomb warning of a device being left at Dock Street.
Army technical officers attended the scene and two controlled explosions were carried out.
The PSNI spokeswoman said the terminal at Belfast City Airport was evacuated following another telephone bomb warning. The Sydenham by-pass was closed in both directions. Police received reports earlier in the day that a bomb had been abandoned in a car park at Belfast International Airport. A PSNI spokeswoman said business at the airport continued as normal as officers investigated. Vehicles were diverted to a separate car park as the area was examined. And at one stage, people arriving at the airport were bussed into the terminal from the approach road. The spokeswoman confirmed that the alert was declared a hoax a short time later and the roads were re-opened A claim that a device was left at Sprucefield shopping centre was checked by the PSNI but nothing was found.
Belfast UUP councillor and former Mayor Jim Rodgers today condemned the disruption and said he had no doubt republicans were seeking to disrupt the Presidential visit arrangements.
"Once again, Belfast and Northern Ireland will be portrayed internationally in a bad light," he said. "People have a right to protest peacefully against the war, but not to phone up with recognised code words about bombs being planted. "This has caused major problems in the city, with funerals being disrupted and people missing important hospital appointments." One angry motorist contacted the Belfast Telegraph to stress the extent of the problems in east Belfast. "I have tried four different routes into the city centre and got nowhere," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irish Voice IF there is one Irish political party caught in the horns of a dilemma over the U.S.-led war in Iraq it is Sinn Fein. The vast majority of the party's funding comes from the U.S. When they were pretty much friendless around the world, it was a group of influential Irish Americans who ensured that their voice was heard. Irish Americans also succeeded in bringing the weight and power of the Clinton administration to bear on Northern Ireland, and changed the dynamic of the issue forever. The U.S. involvement internationalized Northern Ireland and made a profound difference.
Put succinctly, Sinn Fein would likely still be trying to battle their way out of the ghettos and into the mainstream were it not for American political influence and friendship. So you would think that the party would be keenly aware of that and temper their attitude to this country as a result. After all, it is only a few weeks since a cadre of Sinn Fein leaders were all over the U.S. raising vast sums for the party around St. Patrick's Day. Indeed, party leader Gerry Adams was well received at the White House despite efforts by the British to have President George W. Bush boycott him. There is no question, also, that the current special envoy to Ireland, Richard Haass, has played a leading role in the current negotiations which are now expected to lead to an historic breakthrough.
You would think that such a recent history would lead, at least, to a considered stance on the American-led war in Iraq. You would hope that any discussion of the conflict by the party would also include instances of the savage behaviour of Saddam Hussein towards his own people (1.5 million dead by the last count), and the likelihood that he has chemical or biological weapons.
Not a hope. One of the jocular suggestions in Sinn Fein's party newspaper, An Phoblacht/Republican News, this week was that Sinn Fein members at the party's annual Ard Fheis (convention) might contemplate "guzzling 17 pints of lager and swallowing six kebabs," and "throwing up outside the U.S. Embassy on the way home" from the convention because of the war.
Nine pages of the 20-page publication are essentially dedicated to all out attacks on the U.S.-role in Iraq. There are precious few unflattering mentions of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, the Irish language columnist notes that one of the lies spread about Saddam Hussein was that he was a useless dictator who had weapons of mass destruction. The columnist notes (and this is my translation) that the same "lie" was fed to the media so much that people started listening to the propaganda. I don't know any media outlet in the western world, apart from An Phoblacht, that seriously disputes that Saddam Hussein is indeed a brutal dictator (remember the 1.5 million of his own people killed) and that it is entirely possible, if not probable, that he has weapons of mass destruction. The coverage also includes a photograph of Saddam taken from CNN with the tag line, "Hussein, we will be victorious against our enemies." Then we see a bomb falling in Baghdad, a photo of what appears to be a reporter discussing a friendly fire incident involving a patriot missile, and a picture of the American Marine raising a U.S. flag in southern Iraq, which U.S. officials later admitted was a mistake.
Get the picture? Saddam good, America bad. There is ill-disguised glee that the southern Iraqis did not rise up and celebrate when the American and British arrived. No discussion whatever of the reports that they are held at gunpoint by Saddam's thugs and find it impossible to do so. Saddam's Iraq was a wonderful place, An Phoblacht seems to think. Until these awful invaders arrived. Perhaps they are right, but we shall learn when Saddam is finally vanquished and the people are allowed to speak.
The Irish Republican orthodoxy is, of course, that America is bad wherever it is in the world. There is no discussion in An Phoblacht, for instance, of the vicious crackdown on Cuban dissidents that might damage the polished image of Fidel Castro as socialist hero. Republicans are entitled to their opinions, of course, but so are Irish Americans, many of whom have family and relatives who are in harms' way in Iraq. The An Phoblacht message seems to be clear - keep the money and the lobbying coming, but when it comes to your wars, just or not, we'd prefer to throw up outside your embassy. Irish Voice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultra Irish Terrorists and hypocrites Sinn Fein/IRA Sunday Independent DEAR PRESIDENT BUSH, AS ONE of the few Irish journalists to support your war against Saddam Hussein, I want to welcome you to Ireland. Although Iraq and Israel will dominate the public agenda, Sinn Fein will be privately told the score. Apart from that, you came to say thanks to the Irish politicians who stood by you in your hour of need. None of them are Northern nationalists.
Sinn Fein IRA loathes America, fondles Farc, and despises the useful idiots in the Irish-American community and the State Department whom it fooled for many years until it was recently found out. The SDLP, too, is no help. John Hume's speech in the House of Commons debate on Iraq was so hand-wringy that it was hard to make out what side he was on. And now Mark Durkan tells you he is "uncomfortable" and has "profound reservations" about your visit.
But you owe three people big. First, the Protestant people of Northern Ireland who provide most of the 1,500 men and women from the province serving in the Gulf, and most of the recruits to the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards (which also include some brave southern soldiers), bywords for bravery around Basra. Lt-Colonel Tim Collins, who composed a call to arms superior to any speech of Churchill's, is also one of "them".
Second, you owe David Trimble. As Tony Blair will tell you, Trimble made the best speech in favour of finishing off Saddam Hussein in the House of Commons. And at the Irish Association meeting in Trinity College last week, he again flatly told the anti-war audience: "We should have no doubt about the nature of the regime in Iraq. It is an anti-Semitic nationalist dictatorship." Let's hope your State Department staffers (some of whom were a bit sucky to Sinn Fein in the past) point out Trimble's tough dig at Gerry Adams: "Because he has difficulty swallowing some of the core aspects of the agreement, it comes as no surprise to me that Gerry Adams and his colleagues line up with the Kim Jong-Ils, the Mugabes, and the Saddams - that is, with some of the worst regimes in the world." Third, you owe thanks to a southern Irish nationalist. His name is Bertie Ahern and on Iraq he held his head (in his hands, sometimes, but held it) and kept your warplanes flying through Shannon in the teeth of an anti-war hysteria that seemed to suggest that we wanted Saddam to win. Trimble generously dismissed this suggestion in his Trinity speech.
"I don't believe that is what the Irish people want and I don't think that is the policy of the Irish Government. Not for the current Irish Government the gross, hilarious hypocrisy of Caoimhghin O Caolain's amendment in the Dail last week, calling on all states in possession of weapons of mass destruction to put them verifiably beyond use!" Finally, you owe me. So just before you leave Belfast, tell the IRA's Republican Guard to disband or you will destroy them. Just joking, Mr President.
EOGHAN HARRIS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two faces of Adams The Sinn Fein leader forgets his anti-war stance when Bush is about Sunday April 6, 2003 Will Gerry Adams lead the peace
protesters up to Hillsborough Castle tomorrow night and ensure George
Bush doesn't get a good night's sleep?
The problem for Gerry and Sinn Fein is that this time the cameras will be out in force. Last month the Sinn Fein President got lucky. When Adams arrived late for the hooley in the Oval Office on St Patrick's Day the photographers had gone, thus sparing him the embarrassment of a handshake with the commander-in-chief of the American forces currently pulverising Iraq.
Initially, the Irish peace movement was supine in the face of this hypocritical scenario, failing to call on Adams specifically to pull out of the Paddy's Day shindig in protest over the war. The peace movement appeared to change its tune this weekend, however, with its Derry branch calling on both the SDLP and Sinn Fein to boycott the Tuesday photo opportunity with Bush. Both parties are unlikely to do so. Instead those outside looking in at Hillsborough will be the usual ragged army of far left groups of both the Tank and Trot variety. Say what you will about the Socialist Workers, Socialist Party, Workers Party, IRSP, Communists as well as the Greens (and I believe since the Bosnian war onwards they have been wrong), they have at least been consistent in their hostility to America.
Just last weekend Adams was declaring his outright opposition to the assault on Saddam's regime. But interestingly his keynote Ard Fheis speech was not laced with anti-American rhetoric or leftist denunciations of neo-imperialism. Instead Adams launched into a 'I-believe-the-children-are-our-future' ramble with the Sinn Fein leader noting that a small segment of the money being spent to wage war on Iraq could lift millions of Third World children out of poverty.
At the same Ard Fheis Ogra Sinn Fein plastered the walls of the RDS canteen with anti-war posters depicting Bush and Blair's assault on Iraq as a Hollywood movie, a take on the last Star Wars film, with the British and American leaders leading an attack of the Clones. Will Ogra Sinn Fein now come out in force to protest at the gates of Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday, even if their party leaders are inside pressing the flesh with the two men heading up the war to topple Saddam? Moreover, where does all this leave the radical chic that has latched onto Sinn Fein since the peace process and the IRA cease-fires? The party has been doing rather well in university campuses throughout Ireland, recruiting students with their blend of hard-line nationalism and far-left politics, encapsulated in their poster depicting Che Guevara and Bobby Sands. At Queens University Belfast, for instance, Sinn Fein is among the two largest political associations, the other being the DUP.
In the north the party will continue to attract sullen, vengeful and triumphalist young nationalists in Northern Ireland who see Sinn Fein as a badge of ethnic identity, as well as a two-fingered gesture to the Prods and the 'Orangies'. But SF's Janus-like stance on Bush and the US administration must surely cause them problems in the long run among the young radicals it is wooing in the Republic. Republican realpolitik dictates that while Gerry can fly to Havana and hug as many trees as he pleases in the end he will always opt for America. Castro might be cuddly but the pro-death penalty-for-cop-killers Peter King and his chums in corporate America can deliver far more in terms of finance and influence than the Cuban dictator could ever offer.
SUNDAY 06/04/2003 08:26:33 Sinn Fein activists will participate in an anti-war blockade at Hillsborough Castle this week in a bid to prevent Northern Ireland political leaders meeting US President George Bush.
Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin says the party will attend the protest. |