NORAID Calls for Continued Support for Sinn Fein Tue, 8 Feb 2000 02:57:38 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Irish Northern Aid Committee National Office: 363 Seventh Avenue, Suite 405, New York, N.Y. 10001 212-736-1916 1-800-IRELAND  212-279-1916 (FAX) For Immediate Release Contact: Christy Ward National Press Relations Officer 770-205-9798 (day/eve) 770-205-9799 (FAX) bhairdina@aol.com NORAID calls for continued support of Sinn Fein New York (Feb. 7) - Paul Doris, the national chairperson of the Irish Northern Aid Committee, today called on Irish Americans who seek peace with justice in Ireland to support Sinn Fein in its continued efforts to find a resolution to the impasse over the peace process in Ireland. "In recent days, there has been a concerted effort on the part of the British authorities to belittle the efforts of Sinn Fein and to paint the historic compromises of the IRA as less than adequate. "Sinn Fein has remained committed to the peace process and the IRA has made every effort to create a climate in which peace can prevail. Sinn Fein has been the leader in finding innovative ways to advance the process during 19 months of intransigence by the unionist parties and IRA guns have been silent in an effort to build confidence, even in the face of grave provocation. "I am particularly disturbed by the onslaught of hysterical editorials in the American press. It's obvious this effort is driven by the British government, coming at a critical time and painting Sinn Fein as less than genuine in its efforts and offing the blame for the delays in implementing the Good Friday Agreement on the shoulders of the IRA. "Are we to believe simultaneous editorials appeared in major papers in the U.S. by chance? Not likely. Just as British legislation to return the Six Counties to direct rule from London would have taken time to plan, so would this slander being passed off as free and reasoned thought by America's editorial writers. -more- NORAID/2 "Sinn Fein has bent over backwards to bring its supporters to a new position vis a vis its relationship with unionists, who no doubt wish to excluded them from all aspects of life in the north, and the British government, which maintains an interest in the status quo despite recent pronouncements to the contrary. "No less than a senior member of the British Special Intelligence Service, MI6, decried decommissioning as a political gambit that could wreck the peace process. It is our considered belief the unionist parties and the British government seek nothing less than the surrender of the IRA and the public humiliation of the Republican Movement. This is a dangerous game that benefits no one. "We call on the British government to immediately implement the outstanding points in the Good Friday Agreement as set out in April 1998. A British statement on demilitarization, the disbanding of the RUC and the removal of the special legal system aimed almost exclusively at nationalists would make a start. "We call on the U.S. media to recognize the major shift in Sinn Fein policy and the historic actions of the IRA to enhance the process. Sinn Fein remains committed to the Mitchell principles of non-violence and has, as the Good Friday Agreement demands, used its influence to work toward decommissioning, unlike David Trimble who, from the outset, has remained silent while loyalist death squads continued their terror campaign. "The British cannot profess to be the gatekeepers of democracy while secretly drafting legislation that would set aside the democratic wishes of more than 80 percent of the people of Ireland. Again it seems we face the age-old dilemma in Ireland, it's the British way or no way at all." -30- ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-02.08.00-02:57:39-8024