Adams urges DUP to join discussions
If the DUP will not share power with Sinn Fein then the process of restoring devolved power to Northern Ireland will continue without them, Gerry Adams said today.
The Sinn Fein leader said the IRA statement giving up the armed struggle paved the way for a cross-party dialogue on the future of the province, and urged unionists to take advantage of this opportunity.
Mr Adams said the announcement “puts an enormous responsibility on Sinn Fein” to achieve republican goals of independence and security, and said his party was aiming for “full deliverance” on the Good Friday agreement.
But unionists also had a responsibility, he said, urging the DUP to “have the confidence” to enter into the dialogue with Sinn Fein. If that happened, he said, there was “no reason why power sharing can’t happen as quickly as possible”.
The DUP and the Ulster Unionists are sceptical about the IRA’s claims to have given up violence, and Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain has stressed the return to devolved government was dependent on full, verified decommissioning.
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) is next due to report in October but it has been asked to produce an additional report in January next year “to enable us to see progress on the ground”.
That said, Mr Hain urged the two sides to accept the IRA statement “opens up the prospect that devolved government can be re-established in Northern Ireland and on an inclusive basis”.
He said unionists had an “undeniable responsibility” to participate in government with Sinn Fein, while the latter party must take their seats on the policing board “at the earliest opportunity”.
DUP leader Ian Paisley said last night the IRA would be judged on what it did, not just what is said, criticising what he sees as it failure to “explicitly declare” an end to criminal activity.
And Mr Adams accepted the caution, saying: “We didn’t create the conditions for the IRA to make the decisions it took in expectation that the DUP will be queuing up to do business with us.”
But he said the DUP had agreed to power sharing in principle before, and getting them to agree to this in practice may just be “something they need to get their heads around”.
Mr Adams praised Mr Paisley’s work at conference of the agricultural committee and said there was “no reason why they cannot engage directly face to face with Sinn Fein”.
However, he warned: “If they are not prepared to be involved then the entire situation will move on. If they’re not up for it then we move on.”
