INCLUSIVE TALKS MUST CONTINUE SAYS AHERN

[mrgorth]

INCLUSIVE TALKS MUST CONTINUE SAYS AHERN
02/03/05 09:53 EST

The Irish Government said in its first official response to
last night's IRA statement that talks must continue between
all parties.


The IRA, in a statement released last night, accused the two
governments of withdrawing their commitments and trying its
patience to the limit. It confirmed that it was withdrawing
its proposals to get rid of its weapons.


"The IRA has demonstrated our commitment to the peace
process again and again," it stated. "We wanted to succeed.
We have played a key role in achieving the progress achieved
so far."


Speaking in Dundalk today, Mr Ahern tried to play down the
significance of the statement. He called for a period of
reflection and urged all parties involved to continue in
their efforts to resolve the outstanding issues of the
Belfast Agreement.


"I don't read the IRA statement in a negative fashion," he
said. "They are saying what is a fact, that negotiations
have broken down. . . . Everything is off the table and
that's the normal course of negotiation."


He insisted the Irish Government was "not into excluding or
blaming anyone" and said it would continue in its stated
objective, which was " the end of criminality and associated
issues of paramilitarism".


The Tánaiste, Ms Harney warned that the IRA would not be
allowed to "blackmail" democratic governments in the
Northern Ireland peace process.


"Sinn Féin and the IRA are the reason the process has been
in difficulties. They can't have it every way they want.
They're not going to blackmail the British and Irish
governments."


The British government said this morning it was not
surprised at the IRA move, but insisted it was not seeking
confrontation with Sinn Féin. "We do recognise the
contribution that both Sinn Féin and the IRA have made to
the peace process," Prime Minister Tony Blair's official
spokesman said.


"But equally, it's our duty to state the facts as they are
and the facts are that the IRA did carry out the robbery."


He also said the government was not concerned about an
imminent return to violence by the IRA.


In Belfast Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams said the
accusation by the British and Irish governments that the IRA
was the only obstacle to a lasting and durable settlement
was nonsense.


"The two governments have a critically and important
contribution to make. Either they can rise to the hard and
difficult challenge of peacemaking, or they can go on making
a bad situation worse."


The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, claimed this morning
the IRA move was an attempt to bargain with the government
in order to take the pressure of them.


"The Northern Bank heist confirmed that the IRA never put an
offer on the table that they intended to keep. The IRA had
never any intention of decommissioning in a credible,
transparent and verifiable way. They never had any intention
of giving up their criminal empire. That is why they walked
away from the table last year," he said.


Mr Orde told Policing Board representatives in Belfast this
morning the PSNI was confident it was equipped to deal with
any threat posed by the IRA.


"This organisation is utterly fit for purpose in terms of
gathering intelligence, it's probably one of the most
sophisticated intelligence gathering police organisations in
the UK."


The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, held meetings
at Downing Street with Mr Blair and the Northern Ireland
Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, this afternoon.


Following an hour of talks in No 10, Mr Murphy said he did
not believe the IRA was about to resume its violence, but he
said there was no place in a modern Northern Ireland "for a
political party to be linked to an organisation which
carries out a GBP 26.5 million robbery".


Speaking separately, Mr Trimble said the Republican movement
had been given the opportunity to participate in the
democratic process but had "very clearly and conspicuously
failed to meet the challenge".


He added: "We need people to see, particularly those that
voted Sinn Fein thinking that they were encouraging
progress, that by voting Sinn Fein they are in danger of
embedding in society criminality, private armies and the
sort of sordid situations we have seen."


Sinn Féin chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness today blamed
the Belfast bank robbery on "criminals" who had nothing to
do with the IRA or the peace process.


Mr McGuinness blamed the British and Irish governments for
the IRA's decision last night to withdraw its proposal to
dispose of its weapons.


He said he saw it as a "direct consequence" of the
"retrograde stance" of the two governments since the £26.5
million sterling Northern Bank robbery was blamed on the IRA.



Speaking this morning, Mr McGuinness said the robbery was
being used against republicans.


"The people who robbed the Northern Bank didn't give a damn
about the peace process; didn't give tuppence for the work
Gerry Adams and I and others were involved in over the
course of many years; they were obviously people out for
self-gain. It was a criminal robbery. I don't know who was
responsible for it but I do know the consequences have seen
the Taoiseach and others line up against us."


Mr McGuinness said the whole crisis had been created by the
PSNI chief constable Mr Hugh Orde. He stated again that, to
his knowledge, no member of the IRA was involved.


He conceded that it would be a "very serious" matter if it
was proven, as the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has claimed, that
Sinn Féin leaders knew the raid was being planned while
negotiating last December.
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[two gun sid]

1. Ahern made his bed, let him lie in it.

When cooler heads could of prevailed Ahern was piling on Sinn Fein for the betterment of his political party. Now he seems to be backpedaling. Fuck him. He is now on the side of PSNI(RUC) and he will have to live with his choices.


Brits Out!