[Sinn Fein]

1 December 1997

Unionists must stop over-reacting

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP speaking this morning at Stormont said ``We shouldn't underestimate the progress which has been made''

Mr. Adams said:

``The IRA did give those parties, who want it, the opportunity to build a lasting peace. There are quite a number of parties in here, led by the two governments; there is an international dimension, as evidenced in the presence of Senator Mitchell and his colleagues, and a lot of international goodwill. And even though I would be critical of David Trimble's semi-detached approach to the talks it is good that the UUP is still here. That is on the credit side.

``On the debit side the UUP have not yet engaged in the talks properly; there is no involvement at all by the other unionist parties and the securocrats within the British military and intelligence establishment are resisting the necessary process of demilitarisation. This has to change.

``The two governments must find ways to move the process forward both inside and outside of the talks.''

Commenting on Unionist reaction to weekend remarks by Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews, Mr. Adams said:

``People need to stop making propaganda and start making peace. Unionists can't be overreacting everytime there is a remark from someone who doesn't have a unionist agenda. There is no exclusively unionist agenda at these talks. I presume what David Andrews was doing was outlining the agreed position of the two governments. Mr. Trimble and the other unionist parties must know that all of these matters are up for discussion. ``For David Trimble to feign surprise at that is in keeping with his assertion that the union is not up for discussion, and he knows that the union is up for discussion, and indeed has already been discussed in the talks.''

Asked about David Andrews talk of cross border bodies with powers similar to those of a government, Mr. Adams said:

``We have outlined Sinn Fein's vision of the future. This envisages very fundamental constitutional and political change. The Framework Document does say clearly that all Ireland bodies will have `executive powers' and there is only one sense of the meaning of the word `executive'.''

Sinn Fein Press Office, 44 Parnell Square, Dublin 1
Tel: +353-1-8726100 and +353-1-8726839   ·   Fax +353-1-8733074
E-mail: sinnfein@irlnet.com   ·   Website: http://www.sinnfein.org

Released in the US by:

Friends of Sinn Fein, 510 C Street, NE, Washington DC 20002
Tel: +1-202-547-8883   ·   Fax +1-202-547-7889
E-mail: fosf@irlnet.com   ·   Website: http://www.sinnfein.org

Sinn Fein   ·   Sinn Fein Documents
Web publication by sfweb@irlnet.com