APRN 09 October 97/news and editorial Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit From An Phoblacht Republican News 09 October 97 Full edition of APRN is available on Thursdays at: http://www.irlnet.com/aprn/current/news/index.html ************************************************** Real talks begin By Peadar Whelan AFTER ALMOST 16 MONTHS OF prevarication, stalling and the imposition of preconditions the British government and the Ulster Unionist Party finally sat down in negotiations with Sinn Fein. A process that got under way despite unionist insistence that they wouldn't happen until the decommissioning happened. Eight political parties and representatives of the British and Dublin goverments were at Castle Buildings, Stormont on Tuesday 7 for the beginning of substantive talks, talks that should have happened within three months of the IRA cessation of military operations announced in August 1994. Instead we had to wait almost three years for the three stranded talks process to get under way. And despite the large dose of unionist negativity, epitomised by the decision of both Ian Paisley and UK Unionist Robert McCartney to boycott the talks and David Trimble's negative campaigning in the United States the general view of the first day's proceedings was that it was positive. In the course of the proceedings Strands One and Two, which involves Sinn Fein, got under way with the Sinn Fein input being to submit papers from party President Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, chief negotiator. Strand One of the process deals with the relationship with the parties within the North and Strand Two focuses on the ``north/south'' relationships. Strand Three of the talks, concerning as it does, relations between the governments but not the political parties also got under way. ``We are willing to engage in real and meaningful negotiations with those who come to these negotiations with a pro-union agenda'', stated McGuinness. He added, ``dialogue and negotiation can be the bedrock on which together we can build a peaceful settlement to this age old conflict''. Coupled to the substantive talks is the work of the three working committees, the Business committee, which willset the agenda for the talks, and the Confidence and Decommissioning sub-committees. According to Bairbre De Brun a Sinn Fein negotiator who sits on the Business Committee, ``Sinn Fein fully intends to highlight and secure progress on a range of issues under the equality banner. We believe that the British government must implement a programme of confidence building measures which will end political, economic, social and cultural discrimination. ``Both the British and Dublin governments need to urgently address a demilitrisation agenda which deals with release of of all political prisoners, removes all repressive legislation and replaces the RUC with a normal, acceptable police service'', De Brun said. Businesslike start to talks by Laura Friel ``There is no going back to the failed policies of the past.'' That was the message Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness brought to the first day of substansive negotiations at Stormont this week. ``Partition has failed,'' said McGuinness,''The partition of this small island and the division of our people have created a failed political entity in the North of our country. The inequality and the discrimination against nationalists and the militarisation of this part of our country must end.'' ``Businesslike'' was how most people described the first day's meetings. Even the Ulster Unionists were talking of ``getting down to brass tacks''. Posturing about never sitting down with Sinn Fein was put aside, as party representatives in turn presented their submissions to Strand One of the negotiations. Strand One deals with relationships within the Six counties. In the opening session, submissions were presented by all parties, the meeting being chaired by British Minister Paul Murphy. The unionist representatives may have been there ``in body more than spirit'', as one commentator put it, but at least they were there. Strand Two deals with the relationships between North and South and involves all parties and the British and Irish government. Strand Three is the relationship between the two governments. We enter these negotiations as Irish Republicans,'' said McGuinness, ``but in a spirit of openness, flexibility and friendship. We are willing to engage in real and meaningful negotiations with those who come to these negotiations with a pro-Union agenda. Our objective is, through dialogue among all the people of this island, to achieve an agreed Ireland.'' Well, Ken Maginnis and Reg Empey were there, Ulster Unionist Leader David Trimble having opted for a little negative campaigning from across the Atlantic. Bobby Sands writing on the first day of his hunger strike said ``I am standing on the threshold of another trembling world'', Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams told Strand Two, ``We too stand today on a threshold. A new century, a new millennium beckons to us all, holding out the hope of a new beginning for the people of Ireland and of these islands.'' ``Sinn Fein enters these negotiations as an Irish Republican party seeking to promote the broad nationalist objective of an end to British rule in Ireland. British policy at present upholds the union. It enforces the partition of Ireland. Democratic opinion in Ireland and in Britain must seek to change this policy to one of ending the union.'' Adams outlined issues ``which fuel the conflict'', and called for equality of treatment in all sectors of society. ``These issues do not require negotiation. They are issues of basic civil and human rights,''said Adams. The British government should act on these issues immediately by outlining a programmatic approach which delivers real change, which makes equality a reality and which builds confidence in the wider peace process.'' The Irish government and Irish nationalist also have a responsibility to ``ensure that the concerns and fears of the unionist population are addressed and resolved through negotiation,'' said Adams SDLP depty leader Seamus Mallon also placed the relationship between North and South at the heart of the matter. Strand Two was arguably the most important said Mallon. Refering to the Framework Document, Mallon said in addressing North and South and all-island relationships, a settlement would have to ensure that political structures were put in place which would ``provide the fulcrum and dynamic for a new partnership.'' He said the SDLP saw ``such insitutions with executive powers as being an integral part of any new settlement.'' Earlier John Hume, speaking for Strand One, said the objective should be the creation of a new agreed Ireland which respected ``the rights, cultures and aspirations of our communities.'' Any settlement would have to be endorsed North and South, said Hume. ``That endorsement would amount to the popular expression of the right to self determination on behalf of the people of Ireland.'' Meanwhile the Unionist Party was sticking to an internal settlement and the unionist veto. The Unionist Party would never give up ``Northern Ireland's right to self determination, '' argued Ken Maginnis. Any arrangement arising out of the talks would have to attract the consent of ``the overwhelming majority of the people of Northern Ireland.'' Empey called for the removal of Articles 2&3, rejected the Framework document and called for the replacement of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. ``Northern Ireland could have a special relationship with the Republic,'' Empey allowed. Gary McMichael of the UDP said there would be ``no compromise on the existence of Northern Ireland.'' While David Ervine of the PUP spoke for the Combined Loyalist Military Command. The message from CLMC was that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK ``as per the will of the people.'' Emerging from talks, the Ulster Unionist Party appeared out of step with the other participants' upbeat message. Ken Maginnis described himself as ``tetchy and testy'' during the negotiations. ``Frosty'' was how Sinn Fein epitomised the unionists approach. ``It is still very early days,'' said Martin McGuinness, ``and we would hope that in the course of the coming weeks they will chill out.'' But there were some lighter moments. In a moment of gentle teasing, Gerry Adams complained that the unionists wouldn't talk to him. The West Belfast MP pointed out that Reg Empey was actually one of his constituents. ``Well Gerry,'' quipped the Ulster Unionist, ``you'll be telling me I voted for you next.'' An interesting footnote is perhaps that when Sinn Fein's delegation arrived at Stormont the following day, delegates scheduled to meet with the decommissioning subcommittee, were pleasently surprised to find no barage of waiting journalists determined to try and put Sinn Fein on the spot. In fact the place was deserted. Perhaps the media are weary of trying to catch that particular red herring. The union - root cause of conflict The reaction which met Martin McGuinness's remarks this week about `smashing the union' indicates the level to which some politicians are deluding themselves in relation to the republican agenda. McGuinness did no more than reiterate what is, and always has been the core republican position in relation to any negotiations. British occupation of the Six Counties and the partition of Ireland is the root cause of conflict in this country. The aim of Irish republicans has always been to change British policy from one of maintaining the union to one of working to end it. Such a change in British policy removes the blockage to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and opens the way to national reconciliation and the building of an agreed Ireland. The British government has a particular responsibility towards the unionists. That is, to become persuaders for an agreed Ireland. As long as the British government underwrites the unionist position of vetoing any move away from an internal arrangement for the Six Counties, they postpone the achievement of a negotiated settlement. The unionists have no incentive to negotiate a future with their fellow Irish men and women while Britain upholds that veto. The maintenance of such a veto also straightjackets the political options for nationalists in the Six Counties. Their identification with Ireland as opposed to Britain, their alienation from a state to which their consent was never sought nor given, is not addressed by maintenance of the status quo. Only fundamental constitutional change can level the playing field for nationalists. Anything less sows the seeds for continuing conflict. Sinn Fiin are not the only who see the injustice of partition and Britain's illegal claim to the Six Counties as the root cause of conflict. The Irish government has a constitutional imperative to work towards the ending of partition and for the re-unification of Ireland. All the nationalist parties in Ireland subscribe to the view that partition is wrong and that any solution must transcend the present partitionist arrangement. Furthermore, it has been recognised, even by the British government, that an internal settlement is not a solution to the conflict. Partition, the union, British occupation. These are central to any meaningful talks on the future of Ireland. The removal of such obstacles are central to the achievement of a peaceful settlement. Republicans will not shirk from pointing out these truths. It is our duty and our responsibility to do so. As Sinn Fiin's Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness pointed out this Tuesday in his address to the Opening session of Strand One of the Substantive Negotiations at Stormont: ``It is our view that Britain's policy is the root cause of the conflict in our country and therefore is the key matter which must be addressed in these negotiations.'' Saoirse demand increases WHILE THE REPERCUSSIONS OF Martin McGuinness's Coalisland speech centred on his declaration that Sinn Fiin would be entering the Stormont talks determined to ``smash the union'', the reason for the march and rally at which the speech was made went largely unheeded. The several thousand republicans who travelled to the County Tyrone town on Sunday 5 October went there to support the demands of Saoirse, the prisoners support organisation, for the release of all political prisoners. Support for the POWs in English prisons, in Long Kesh, in Maghaberry, in the United States and in Portlaoise was evident in the warm welcome extended by Sunday's crowd to the relatives of the POWs who addressed the rally. These included Frances McHugh whose brother Brian McHugh is at present in Belmarsh jail in South London on 23 hour lock up. And the applause which greeted Deirdre McAliskey as she called for the immediate release of her sister Roisin and baby Loinir spoke volumes for the concern republicans have over this latest attempt by the British to punish one family for their beliefs. Earlier the parade had left three departure points at Gorgonis, Brackaville and Annagher and, accompanied by flute bands from across the North, marched to Coalisland RUC barracks where Saoirse activists tied green ribbons and placards on the wire surround of a sangar that dominates the town square. Speaking to An Phoblacht after Sunday's rally Saoirse's chairperson Martin Meehan expressed his ``delight at such a turnout'', and urged nationalists ``throughout Ireland to support any future protest organised by Saoirse. In the coming months it is crucial people show their support for the POWs,'' he said. Plans to extend Harryville protests by Laura Friel Catholic churches in Ballymoney and Coleraine have been identified and may be picketed by loyalists determined to extend their sectarian campaign at Harryville. Last week loyalists gathered for a second week outside the Catholic Church in the predominantly Protestant Harryville estate. Saturday night Mass at the Church of Our Lady was cancelled over the summer as a concilitary gesture towards defusing tension. A loyalist at the picket admitted that ``many Protestants are embarrassed'' by the picket but `they are determined to go on.'' To date the cost to the taxpayer of loyalist pickets at Harryville has been estimated at #1.7 million. Meanwhile, in a further outburst of sectarianism in Ballymena, a Protestant family has been targeted by loyalists because they rented a house to a Catholic tenant. In August the family's hayshed and surrounding walls were daubed with hate graffiti. The message was clear ``LVF, RIP, Houston's love Taggs(sic), Irish out of Ulster, Scum and LVF shoots Taggs(sic) '' Last week, the family was targeted again with an arson attack in which their hay shed was burnt to the ground. 500 bales of hay were lost together with an adjoining garage and family car. Bloody Sunday: response from British soon? By Martha McClelland On Tuesday, Bloody Sunday relatives meet the Taoiseach. Sources indicate that an initial response from the British Government to the dossier on Bloody Sunday compiled by the previous Dublin Government last year will be outlined. Over the past year, fresh evidence and a growing world-wide lobby for a new independent inquiry has put the British Government under increasing press. With the collapse of the Tories, an international spotlight is now focused on the Labour government's response. Anything less than an independent international inquiry will be rejected by relatives. Alternatives, such as a three person committee sitting to review current documents, are impotent and unable to deal with the mountain of eyewitness and other evidence which has been supressed. Some evidence suggests that Labour wants to deal with this open wound, but are afraid to because this requires them putting the Ministry of Defence and the Parachute Regiment in the dock. Don Mullan, author of Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, referring to revelations throughout the year exposing glaring discrepancies in the ``evidence'' used by the British government in their case, said ``Bloody Sunday is an issue which is not going to go away. The findings of the Widgery Tribunal have been shown to be completely at odds with the evidence presented. We have gathered support from around the world and unless the Labour administration are prepared to set aside the findings of the Widgery Tribunal and launch a new independent inquiry they will come under even more pressure.'' In addition to recent revelations of a British Army helicopter film taken that day, but never presented in evidence, the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign are upping their campaign to prove that shots were fired from the City Walls. The British Army version rules out the possibility of shots being fired from the Walls, but last year Thomas Dawe, an Englishman, came forward to reveal that bullets landed on the grassy bank underneath which he was sheltering. These could only have been fired from the Walls. An archaeologist and a geophysicist have now been called in to search for bullets believed to be embedded in a grass verge under the Walls. John Kelly, whose brother was shot dead that day, spoke for the Justice Group and said ``If we can prove that shots were fired from the Walls, then the British Government will have a moral obligation to admit the errors in the Widgery Report and open a new and independent inquiry.'' Pat Beag remembered 150 Belfast republicans attended a commemoration for Sinn Fiin councillor Pat Beag McGeown who died last year. McGeown, who spent 47 days on hunger strike during the 1981 hunger strike in Long Kesh and never fully regained his health, was buried in the republican plot at Milltown cemetery and it was there that Sunday's commemoration was held. Veteran Sinn Fein councillor from North Belfast Paddy McManus, carrying the national flag, headed the republicans as they marched from the gates of Milltown to McGeown's graveside. Marie Moore, a close friend of Pat Beag and colleague on Belfast City Council, chaired the proceedings and spoke for everyone when she talked of the heartbreak she felt when Pat died. Michael Browne, another of Sinn Fein's Belfast council representatives, delivered the main oration. Browne, who workedwith Pat Beag in the Prisoner of War Department, recounted the fondmemories of Pat which were shared by those who worked with him. Browne commended Pat for his ``courage and his vision.'' He said ``To Sinn Fein Pat was an asset in every sense. The most fitting tribute we could pay Pat is to continue the work which he wasn't able to complete himself, to ensure that this struggle is completed to the advantage of republicans in the way Pat McGeown would have wished''. ================================================================= 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-10.10.97-21:06:28-2961