By Sean Magill and Maureen Baker
Britain's minister for occupied Ireland, Patrick Mayhew, said last week that there was no question of Sinn Fein, the only Republican party with support throughout Ireland, becoming involved in all-inclusive talks with other parties while the Irish Republican Army refused to surrender its arms.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams pointed out that Sinn Fein does not speak for the IRA. He also said, "Patrick Mayhew is talking to me down the barrel of a gun. I think he is making major mistakes in terms of how he sees this whole business progressing. You can't launch a discussion document one week and then next week say you are not going to have discussions."
At Sinn Fein's Ard Fheis (annual conference) at the end of February, Adams urged the British government to move speedily into dialogue involving all the political parties.
"If we are to agree to a lasting peace, then there needs to be the permanent removal of all the guns — British, Loyalist, Unionist as well as Republican", he said.
On February 22, the British and Irish governments released their long-awaited framework document for peace. This is supposed to be a discussion document open to all parties for comment and negotiation.
The Irish government agreed to call for a referendum on the part of the Irish constitution that claims sovereignty over the whole island of Ireland. Gerry Adams said Republicans would still find changes to the constitution unacceptable. However, he said they would discuss their objections at the all-party talks, if Sinn Fein is invited.
Sinn Fein also would have trouble with the fact that the people of the six counties still occupied by Britain will hold a separate referendum. Sinn Fein believes the people of Ireland as a whole should decide the outcome. The Unionist veto has been the stumbling block to progress in Ireland since the setting up of the Northern Ireland statelet 70 years ago.
In the five months since the IRA cease-fire, there has been little progress in removing the causes of the conflict from the pro-British side.
The Peace Action Monitor (PAM) established by Sinn Fein has been inundated with completed monitoring forms containing details of increasing crown forces arrests, harassment, raids and covert approaches.
The many cases exposed by PAM include the case of Gerard Stevenson of Twinbrook, a 19-year-old disabled youth who had his artificial leg torn off and thrown at him by police. Another is the case of a father of four, Brian McConville of Rostrevor, who was arrested for traffic offences but was told by police he would receive special treatment in his court case if he would spy on local Republicans.
Armed soldiers and police still patrol nationalist areas. None of the huge fortifications built to house British soldiers are being dismantled; in fact some are being extended. The promised reopening of border roads is either not happening or happening very slowly. Where local people have taken the initiative and reopened the roads themselves, crown forces have blocked them again.
Sinn Fein is running a campaign to disband the discredited and sectarian police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). All over the North, posters are appearing with the slogan "RUC — 93% Protestant — 100% Unionist".
The Irish government has moved on the release of political prisoners. On January 20, nine were released from Irish jails. The British have not released any Irish POWs and are still dragging their feet on repatriating Republican prisoners in English jails to jails in the six counties.
However, despite all attempts by pro-British forces and the British government to hamper the peace process, Sinn Fein is still prepared to take part in all peace talks and negotiations.
As Gerry Adams said in a spontaneous address greeting the IRA cease-fire last year, "We are going to have our freedom and that freedom is going to embrace Unionist and nationalist; Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter, in a free and united Irish Republic. All of us have a role to play in moving it forward. This struggle is not over."