ADAMS CHALLENGES GOV.T'S TO REVEAL GFA ALTERNATIVE

[mrgorth]

ADAMS CHALLENGES GOV.T'S TO REVEAL GFA ALTERNATIVE
01/28/05 11:27 EST

The British and Irish governments should declare the Good
Friday Agreement dead if they have an alternative solution
to power-sharing in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein president
Gerry Adams said tonight.


As the political fallout continued over last month`s
GBP£26.5 million Northern Bank raid, Mr Adams insisted
inclusive government involving unionists, nationalists and
republicans was the only way forward for the country.


And following claims that Sinn Fein was given a stark
message by British prime minister Tony Blair in Chequers
today that all alleged IRA criminal activity must end, Mr
Adams insisted there was no lecture from the Prime Minister
during their first meeting since the robbery.


The West Belfast MP said: "The two governments say they are
committed to the Agreement and I cannot see how they can go
forward with anything less than it. Certainly there has
been no discussion between us and either of the governments
about such proposals."


"But if the governments want to go with something else, then
they should stand up and say the Agreement is finished and
we can all negotiate."


Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde`s reiteration
earlier this month that his officers believe the IRA carried
out the Northern Bank heist torpedoed any hopes London and
Dublin might have had of resurrecting their bid to restore
devolution before the British General Election.


Mr Adams said tonight the Prime Minister had put forward his
view that the IRA was responsible for the robbery but had
produced no evidence.


"The spin going into today`s meeting was that there was
going to be a row but there wasn`t," he said. "We were not
going to be lectured and we weren`t lectured. We have no
apologies to make as Sinn Fein is opposed to criminality of
any kind."


Last month, Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern felt they
had come agonisingly close to bringing back power-sharing,
with an historic deal involving Sinn Fein and the Reverend
Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists stumbling over demands
for photographic evidence of future IRA disarmament.


The bank raid, however, prompted the DUP and others to urge
London to look at alternative ways to bring devolution to
Northern Ireland which would freeze Sinn Fein out of government.


After today`s meeting, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul
Murphy said Mr Adams and Martin McGuinness had been told
unless alleged criminal activity by the IRA ended there
would be no inclusive executive.


"The IRA has to give all criminality up," he said. "Unless
that happens, I cannot see a situation where we can restore
an executive."


And in a further warning to republicans, Mr Murphy said the
British Government would continue to explore other means of
getting the Assembly functioning in the absence of devolution.


The DUP and cross community Alliance Party believe one of
those ways is to have a voluntary coalition involving the
nationalist SDLP.


But the SDLP has instead proposed the recall of the Assembly
and the appointment of commissioners drawn from business,
trade unions and the voluntary sector to run government
departments until full blown devolution returns.


It has also been proposed that Stormont committees could be
reconvened to scrutinise the work of Northern Ireland Office
ministers.


Mr Murphy said these proposals would be considered at more
meetings between the two governments and the parties over
the coming weeks.


He also confirmed he would take part in talks next Tuesday
involving Mr. Blair, Mr Ahern and Irish foreign minister
Dermot Ahern.


"There are a lot of ideas which have been discussed and may
well be talking about these over the next couple of weeks,"
he said.
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