March 16, 2003
Program: THE POLITICS SHOW (MICHELLE GILDERNEW)
 

JIM FITZPATRICK

With me is the Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Michelle Gildernew. You heard Professor Des Rea saying that basically Sinn Féin supporters are going to have to wait to 2005 if they want to get on these District Policing Partnerships. Does this not prove what the SDLP has said, that they jumped at the right time and you have left it too late?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Certainly not. I think if the SDLP really believed that they jumped at the right time then we wouldn't have seen 2 separate occasions in which legislation was introduced to address the difficulties that currently exist within the policing arrangements. As we saw there from the clip one of the problems that has beset the DPP's is something that we said would happen in that they are full of political cronies and that cronyism is what we are trying to get away from.

JIM FITZPATRICK

But you are going to have to live with it till 2005 by the sounds of things.

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Well I don't know, maybe it will take to 2005 before we are ready to go onto the DPP's anyway, because we do have to see guarantees within legislation that enables us to reflect the views of the community, because that is what we are taking on board at the minute, in that the community is now happy with the current policing arrangements and that is why as we saw on the clip in Dungannon nobody wanted to go on the DPP.
 
JIM FITZPATRICK

So is that really the timeframe, 2 more years before Sinn Féin joins the Policing Board?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

I am not sure how long it will be, but certainly it will have to be when things are right, when the environment is right, when people are ready and when we have given enough, when we have put enough pressure on the British and the Dublin Governments, particularly the British Government to bring in legislation that enables us to say to people, we feel now that the time is right for you to join policing. 

Certainly it is not right now and you know the people that I speak to every day would be very keen to let me know their opinions in that they would not be ready at this time to even think about either the DPP's or joining the PSNI.

JIM FITZPATRICK

So do you think this could be some sort of graduated process then for Sinn Féin, that you make some positive statements maybe before an election and let things work themselves out? What is the sort of timeframe we are talking about here?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Again I can't say how long it will be but certainly when you think of stories that came out this week in the paper where 55 lawyers were threatened in the period between 2001-2002 by members of the PSNI. That goes to show you that the human rights abusers within the PSNI, the peopleŠŠ

JIM FITZPATRICK

I think actually, though just a correction on that, that the period was longer, it is just that the report was compiled over that year. But other stories in the paper this week, a big story obviously was the murder in Cullaville and this could have massive ramifications for the provisional movement. One of your own. Are you going to be able to keep a lid on a potential feud there?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

I am not fully aware of the circumstances around the shooting and I don't think at this stage anybody is. But what I have heard is that the people who shot the young fella on Wednesday morning had been able to drive around the most heavily militarized area of Europe armed. Now Keith was shot dead by people who are armed, he himself was unarmed. He was not on active service. You know to me the fact that people can get away with running about South Armagh with guns when we know it is very heavily militarized, it seems to me that that calls into question the whole intelligence gathering operation that goes on down there and the fact that these people are allowed to act with such impunity.

JIM FITZPATRICK

So you would like to see the police doing a better job on the streets of South Armagh?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

I would think that at the minute the difficulties in South Armagh have got more to do with the fact that the PSNI is so unacceptable and so it is such an anathema to that community that people cannot give any faith to the PSNI, and certainly that is proven in the actions they have taken over the past weeks and months.

JIM FITZPATRICK

But this is a very difficult issue, is this an internal IRA problem?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Again I can't speak for the IRA but as far as I know it is not. Like I say I don't have the full facts but what I do know is that Keith, while he was an IRA member, he was not on active service and he wasn't armed.
 
JIM FITZPATRICK

There have been a number of reports which suggest that if not particularly on this occasion, although there are some who stress that it was, that there may have been a punishment gang in which he was involved and that this all went wrong. So perhaps this is an example of self-policing as manifested by the IRA gone wrong.

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Because I don't have the full facts I can't speculate on that so I really can't give comment on that.

JIM FITZPATRICK

But surely if Sinn Féin were to sign up to the new policing arrangement it might be a solution to this sort of thing?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Well when Sinn Féin are ready to sign up for policing, when the community is ready for us to do that then we will think seriously about it. But this debate has been ongoing within our party now for a long number of months.

It is something we will take very seriously, we will look at it very carefully and we will decide to make a move when the time is right, when the legislative changes have been brought into play and when we have cast iron guarantees that we can go into those arrangements secure in the knowledge that we do represent the vast majority of nationalists and republicans in the North.

JIM FITZPATRICK

So you are awaiting legislation but the wider community is also awaiting an IRA statement. When are we likely to see that?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Again I can't say. I mean I do know that the current political negotiations are presently at the work in progress stage and you know there have been negotiations both here, across the water in London and I am sure in Washington this past week too. 

So we are certainly taking a very keen interest in all of the aspects of the negotiations of last week, not just policing but criminal justice, demilitarization, human rights, equality, all of the issues that are still outstanding as Tony Blair pointed out last year, that had not been implemented in the Good Friday Agreement and we will continue to work on all of those issues.

JIM FITZPATRICK

What do you think has happened over the past week in Washington, anything significant?

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Well I think the fact that President Bush has taken time out of this very serious time in his presidency to engage with politicians from the North is very important. It shows the length that the US administrations, both his and President Clinton's before that, have gone to to try and help the peace process along and for that I think we all should be grateful. The fact that my colleagues and (unclear) colleagues and there are politicians from all of the parties in Washington this week, I would like to think that there will be further progress in the political process when they get back.

JIM FITZPATRICK

You have come under some criticism though for going out as people who oppose the war in Iraq and essentially cozying up to a US President who is about launch a war.

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

We have disagreed with US administration on a number of areas, world debt for example was something that we had very strong words with current US presidents about. We can have a policy view on things like the war in Iraq and it doesn't always have to be the same as the US administration, and certainly we make up our own minds. 

The US administration are there to help our political process and we are there for that too and while we have one view on Iraq and they have another I think we can still work within those boundaries.

JIM FITZPATRICK

And what is your view on the Irish Governments position? Some say that they have compromised Irish neutrality by allowing US planes to refuel at Shannon.

MICHELLE GILDERNEW

Certainly there is a lot of strength of feeling against the fact that the US troops can land in Shannon and refuel there. I think Irish neutrality is something that we should be very careful about, it is something that I think if we compromise that we are putting the lives of the people on this island at risk, and certainly my personal opinion is that the Dublin Government should not have taken the steps that they did.

March 16, 2003

Program: THE POLITICS SHOW (GARY STOKES, DES REA, SAMMY WILSON, HYLAND)
 

JIM FITZPATRICK

What has David Trimble's wife and a former Assistant Chief Constable got in common? Well, the answer is that they both failed to make it onto the new District Policing Partnerships. These advisory boards, one for each council area, are supposed to help tackle spiraling lawlessness and reduce community alienation by giving ordinary people a direct say in policing. 

But they have begun by alienating more than Daphne Trimble and Blair Wallis, nearly 150 people who have failed to be selected have formally complained to the Policing Board. So I decided to take a look this week at a controversial selection process which could become the model for all public appointments. 

GARY STOKES

I personally see this as a real opportunity, to draw a line under what has gone before and move things forward, set up District Policing Partnership in Newry and very much try and normalize policing in the area of Newry and Mourne.

JIM FITZPATRICK

Gary Stokes, a Catholic, is one of 207 new independent members of the District Policing Partnerships. Public appointments are normally made on the merit principle, whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, Catholic or Protestant should not effect the decision. If it does it is called discrimination and you can sue. 

But the appointments to the new District Policing Partnerships unveiled this week have turned that principle on its head, using the census figures as a template people were chosen to match the make up of the local community.

DES REA

What did we want? We wanted DPP's which are representative of the district council in terms of identity, in terms of gender, in terms of ethnicity, in terms of disability. So what we have come up with we believe gives that representation so that they can genuinely represent the community of which they are a part.

JIM FITZPATRICK

Just over half of all places on the District Policing Partnerships are reserved for councillors. The other half have just been filled in one of the largest public appointment processes ever seen in Northern Ireland, with over 200 people chosen out of 1500 applications. 

The Police Board made the appointments from short lists drawn up in each council area. After short listing all candidates were considered to be equal. What decided whether they made it to the board room table or not were things such as their age, gender, religion, even sexual orientation and to what extent these characteristics help the board reflect the community it would serve. 

For example, in Ards because the political appointments were all men, only women were chosen as independents to reflect the gender balance in the district. In Dungannon and South Tyrone the political appointments have been made, but the independent seats remain empty because too few Catholics applied. Critics argue that it is nothing more than an exercise in political correctness.

SAMMY WILSON

I think the key factor is that many people felt, look I submitted my name, the people who actually interviewed me assessed me and people who never saw me then made a totally different assessment and therefore I think the people, quite rightly, have felt miffed.

JIM FITZPATRICK

The political balance of a number of the partnerships have also been called into question. Political affiliation was not considered in the selection process with the result that in North Down two of the independent appointments are members of the Women's Coalition and in Newry four of the independents have strong links to the SDLP.
 

DAVY HYLAND

Already of the ten councillors there are five SDLP councillors and then there are nine so called independent members, but of those nine four are already members of the SDLP or held party positions. Another one of the members is a daughter of a sitting SDLP councillor. So in my eyes that makes up the main body of the partnership is SDLP and I think that is not a very satisfactory arrangement.

JIM FITZPATRICK

Of course Sinn Féin has so far refused to join the partnerships and new member, Gary Stokes argues that his political affiliation to the SDLP will not influence his work on the partnership.

GARY STOKES

To put it in perspective I am a member of the SDLP for less than two years and I did not consult with the SDLP when I applied to join it nor did they ask me to apply to join. So I have signed up to a job description which would very much hold me to be independent and I intend to follow that job description and to maintain my independence.

JIM FITZPATRICK

But the current difficulties will only grow if, as predicted, Sinn Féin decides to join in the near future. Legislation will be amended to allow former paramilitaries to sit on the Partnerships and Belfast Partnership is likely to be split into four full boards for North, South, East and West.

SAMMY WILSON

It raises many grave problems. First of all are we going to throw some people off boards to put Sinn Féin supporters on? Secondly Sinn Féin were keen to have people who had a criminal recover be included on the DPP's or if we create new posts do we only advertise for Sinn Féin supporters with criminal records? 

Who is it that makes a judgment whether or not people who apply are Sinn Féin supporters? Is it Sinn Féin who vets the new people?
 

JIM FITZPATRICK

Could this who thing be up for review again and the whole recruitment process thrown up in the air?

DES REA

I think that what is now in place will take its course. But if, as is being suggested and speculated upon, there are sub partnerships in Belfast then those will be advertised. And if in fact Sinn Féin come on board, are fully committed to policing, then I would imagine that will be reflected in the composition of those sub-boards in Belfast.

4:15 p.m., March 18, 2003
Program: UTV Live - Jimmy Spratt, Anne Monaghan, Des Rea

LETITIA FITZPATRICK

The first meeting of the Belfast District Policing Partnership was last week. During selection applicants were interviewed by local council and independent members, then the Policing Board Appointment Panels consider them.

There's been controversy over those who applied and weren't selected, including Daphne Trimble, wife of the Ulster Unionist leader, and former Deputy Chief Constable, Blair Wallace. Jimmy Spratt a former Police Federation Chairman failed to get on to Castlereagh's DPP.

Do you think they want a new broom to sweep clean?

JIMMY SPRATT

I think you just might have hit the nail on the head there because I think probably they don't want people like me about, although they deny that. I think that it is a total sham. I think that we're back to people being appointed in the same way as the old quangos were appointed in the past.

LETITIA FITZPATRICK

Ann Monaghan is one of five Women's Coalition appointees, but didn't apply on that basis.

ANN MONAGHAN

I probably suit a lot of criteria, I'm young, female, work with communities and students in South Belfast and I think the process was fair and I've heard comments that perhaps those who did get on aren't as well qualified. I think part of the situation is that there were a lot of well qualified people who applied and it was probably down to applying strict criteria.

DES REA

We had assessors validating the whole process. What did those assessors say? They said to us, this Board, that this was the best managed process, we couldn't have managed it more effectively in order to achieve what? A representative DPP, in other words, representative of that District Council area in its totality.

LETITIA FITZPATRICK

The Policing Board says it's worked hard through a stringent process to set up representative District Policing Partnerships. Some of the candidates who failed to be selected obviously don't share that view.

March 28. 2003
Morning news digest courtesy of the Northern Ireland Information Service

Policing

London and Dublin are rejecting Sinn Féin claims of ongoing negotiations over policing in the search for acts of completion, and the SDLP endorsed the Government view that the passage of the Police Bill will mark the end of the legislative program for police reforms. Sinn Féin insists there is still no closure on issues including demilitarization, criminal justice and policing - Irish Times P6. Sinn Féin has criticized the SDLP for what it claims is the party's advocating of new pre-conditions for the restoration of power to Stormont and the holding of elections to the Assembly in May. Martin McGuinness says that the party would not "sign on for policing until we get policing right" - Irish Times P6.

Planned reforms of the police system could force the Chief Constable to put ongoing investigations at risk, the Government was warned. Ulster Unionist and Tories both urged Ministers not to weaken the senior officer's powers to withhold information - Irish News P10.

Unionist Police Bill bid to amend 50-50 recruiting is defeated. Unionists had argued that the policy breaches human rights, however the proposal failed and the Bill now progresses to the House of Lords - News Letter P4.

March 31, 2003
Program: UTV
Subject SINN Féin - POLICING BOARD

PAUL CLARKE
 

Sinn Féin says it will hold a special conference about joining the policing board but not until the planned May 29 elections. The SDLP says it will then be too late, in another development the DUP says there will be a rates timebomb when devolution is restored. Our political Ken Reid now reports.

KEN REID

It was clear at the weekend Sinn Féin Ard Fheis that policing is still a highly sensitive subject for republicans. Today the party confirmed it would not be joining the policing board before the May 29th elections. 

GERRY KELLY

Gerry Adams has already said that it certainly won't be this side of the May elections but you heard the debate I hope in the Ard Fheis, it's a very deep running issue, it's been described often as big as the Good Friday Agreement itself. We have a way to go.

KEN REID

But the SDLP says Sinn Féin is playing games. 

MARK DURKAN

The pretence that they will only go on the Policing Board whenever Patton is fully implemented is a nonsense, it's about as logical as saying you will only go in to the Assembly or the Executive whenever the Agreement is fully implemented. The Policing Board is the means of delivering and implementing the Patton report and we have proved that in our sixteen months on the Policing Board.

KEN REID

In a separate development the DUP says the restoration of devolution could bring a rates timebomb. But it says savings of half a billion pounds could be made in a new Assembly term.

PETER ROBINSON

As a devolutionist I have to say that the present system does damage to the cause of devolution because more and more people are identifying waste and devolution as being one in the same thing. It doesn't have to be. You can have a system of Government in Northern Ireland, a devolved system of government without having the waste and that's what we intend to prove.

KEN REID

Interestingly David Trimble has been involved in discussions with Downing Street officials today and contacts with republicans and unionists are expected to continue through the week and there's now a distinct possibility that the joint declaration by the two Governments at Hillsborough Castle could take place as early as next week.

March 31, 2003
Program: UTV Live
Date & Time 31 March 2003
Subject Reduction in three police stations opening hours

PAUL CLARKE

Three North Belfast police stations are to have their opening hours cut back.

KATE SMITH

Old Park, York Road and Greencastle stations will be closed for two-hour periods, three times a day from tomorrow.

SUSAN MILLAR

The three stations in question had been threatened with various forms of scaling down, but after a series of meeting with local communities, it's been agreed that they'll close to the public at certain times of the day and night. Greencastle and York Road stations on the Shore Road and Old Park station will be closed between 3 and 5 in the morning, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again in the afternoon between 4 and 6. The measures come into place tomorrow morning.

The police say far from being a backward step, these limited closing hours will free up extra officers to be out on the beat.

CHIEF INSP COLIN TAYLOR, PSNI

It is happening in other areas, and basically we have to work with the resources that we have, and we've conducted a fundamental review of our stations, and the number of officers we have here, and we feel that by taking this measure within any 24-hour period, we're freeing up 18 officers which is a significant number to patrol the streets of North Belfast. I believe that police stations are effective and vital, but I also believe that the police officers in those stations are more important that they're the ones who're actually delivering the service to the community.

 SUSAN MILLAR

However, the area's MP said it would not have been necessary if the changes to policing had not left the force so short-handed.

NIGEL DODDS, DUP

I mean this arises because of a chronic reduction in policeman power in North Belfast, indeed right across the province, 100 less police officers full-time in North Belfast compared to two years ago, that's the direct result of the Patten report, and the compensation package that arose out of that. So clearly they are worrying developments at a time where there's still ongoing security concerns in that area.

SUSAN MILLAR

Telephone calls to the three stations outside hours will be redirected to a central area at Tennent Street.

March 31, 2003
Program: UTV
Subject SINN Féin - POLICING BOARD

PAUL CLARKE
 

Sinn Féin says it will hold a special conference about joining the policing board but not until the planned May 29 elections. The SDLP says it will then be too late, in another development the DUP says there will be a rates timebomb when devolution is restored. Our political Ken Reid now reports.

KEN REID

It was clear at the weekend Sinn Féin Ard Fheis that policing is still a highly sensitive subject for republicans. Today the party confirmed it would not be joining the policing board before the May 29th elections. 

GERRY KELLY

Gerry Adams has already said that it certainly won't be this side of the May elections but you heard the debate I hope in the Ard Fheis, it's a very deep running issue, it's been described often as big as the Good Friday Agreement itself. We have a way to go.

KEN REID

But the SDLP says Sinn Féin is playing games. 

MARK DURKAN

The pretense that they will only go on the Policing Board whenever Patton is fully implemented is a nonsense, it's about as logical as saying you will only go in to the Assembly or the Executive whenever the Agreement is fully implemented. The Policing Board is the means of delivering and implementing the Patton report and we have proved that in our sixteen months on the Policing Board.

KEN REID

In a separate development the DUP says the restoration of devolution could bring a rates timebomb. But it says savings of half a billion pounds could be made in a new Assembly term.

PETER ROBINSON

As a devolutionist I have to say that the present system does damage to the cause of devolution because more and more people are identifying waste and devolution as being one in the same thing. It doesn't have to be. You can have a system of Government in Northern Ireland, a devolved system of government without having the waste and that's what we intend to prove.

KEN REID

Interestingly David Trimble has been involved in discussions with Downing Street officials today and contacts with republicans and unionists are expected to continue through the week and there's now a distinct possibility that the joint declaration by the two Governments at Hillsborough Castle could take place as early as next week.

March 31, 2003
Program: BBC Newsline
Subject: M Devenport - Sinn Féin and Policing Board

NOEL THOMPSON

Sinn Féin has confirmed it won't take its crucial decision on whether to support the police until after the Assembly elections due at the end of May. Gerry Kelly, the party's policing spokesperson said republicans will only make the decision when they are convinced they've reached the right threshold.

Mark, no real surprise, I suppose that Sinn Féin aren't jumping into the Policing Board, but what political reaction has there been today to their position?

MARK DEVENPORT

Well it was pretty clear Noel, that the Sinn Féin party conference which took place at the weekend, that the Sinn Féin leadership is willing to sell the idea of policing in principle and taking places on the Policing Board once they think the time is right, but the fact that they're putting it off until after the two nationalist parties are involved in a dogfight over this issue of policing, and Mark Durkan, the SDLP leader accused Sinn Féin of going into the election speaking with a fork tongue on the issue, trying to appeal both to moderate nationalists, and more extreme elements, if you like, on this particular issue by keeping their options open.

NOEL THOMPSON

Well, is an overall deal on restoring devolution possible if Sinn Féin are still off the Policing Board, or not on the Policing Board?

MARK DEVENPORT

Well I think really what's critical in that is the Ulster Unionist's assessment of this, and talking to senior Ulster Unionists today they say, they don't particularly like this if Sinn Féin doesn't buy into policing before the election that's one of these so-called acts of completion which won't be complete, but as far as they're concerned, it's not the primary issue, they want to hear from the IRA that it's ending its activity. They want to see a major gesture on decommissioning, and they say that those are the crucial elements that they'll be bearing in mind whenever they convene a special Ulster Unionist Council to decide what to do.

NOEL THOMPSON

So where are we now Mark in the drive to devolution?

MARK DEVENPORT

We're expecting to see the Prime Minister Tony Blair breaking off from his deep involvement obviously with Iraq to come over here, and join with Bertie Ahern, probably on April 10th which is the 5th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, possibly it might slip, but certainly the backend of next week to publish their joint proposals on the way forward, and then the crucial responses to those proposals will be, on the one hand from the IRA, and on the other hand from the Ulster Unionists.

March 31, 2003
Program: GMU - Mitchel McLaughlin
Subject Should Sinn Féin take up its places on the Policing Board?

WENDY AUSTIN

Well your party president said on Saturday that this was not yet the time and at the weekend you managed to defeat a motion which would have tied your hands, perhaps, on policing. But for many the question still is, is Sinn Féin any closer to joining the Policing Board?

MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

And I think the straight forward answer to that is, yes.

WENDY AUSTIN

Can you elaborate a little on that for us?

MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

Well there is, there's quite a bit of ongoing work and I think we can record, and we did report back on progress, particularly since the take it or leave it scenario of Weston Park more than 18 months ago. There continues to be issues that are outstanding, but there is, you know, a significant ongoing engagement and we wait with interest the joint statement by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister in the first week in April.

WENDY AUSTIN

But of course there are people who are awaiting with interest on what your party is going to do and who will have been disappointed by the fact that, really there wasn't any move towards policing at the weekend. That, okay, you agreed that there would be a special Ard Fheis on policing when the time is right, but how do you decide when the time is right?
 
MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

Yes and I can understand that and we are approaching this as sensibly and as sensitively as we can. There's also a considerable body of opinion within our own constituency who have had a very bad experience over many generations of policing, so it is not a straight forward matter. Now we have set out our basic requirement which is the Patten recommendations as the threshold.

We will work with the British Government and the Irish Government and the other partners in this process to achieve that because, you know, Tony Blair has accepted that up to now Patten has not been delivered. Now I think people will understand that's the threshold, they will also see in a very open and transparent way how the Sinn Féin delegates will decide on this matter because the special Ard Fheis will debate it and it will be, I'm sure, a very interesting and passionate debate. 

But we know that this is a historic moment that we are approaching. We've set out our arguments on criminal justice, on the transfer of powers of justice and policing back here into local democratic control and the minimum threshold on policing, so I think our position is transparent. We will not shift the goal posts unlike some others.

WENDY AUSTIN

There is an interesting survey, I'm sure you read it, in one of the Sunday papers yesterday, in the Sunday Times, who spoke to 100 of your delegates and it showed that less than one in ten of those delegates favored complete decommissioning within three years. Now for those who were expecting that at some stage there would be a statement from the IRA that the war was over, or something of that sort, that's pretty disappointing isn't it?

MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

Well, of course, there are issues that effect those attitudes, but I think those attitudes have shifted quite obviously and measurably over the period of the peace process and this is about conflict resolution, it's that type of process and it will be, hopefully, about national reconciliation in its next phase. 

But I think that, you know, we will see, if the actions of others, for example the British military, were to be seen to be following the precepts and the concepts of the Good Friday Agreement, that there will be a reciprocal response out of the, you know, out of the republican constituencyŠŠpast the IRA.

WENDY AUSTIN

Interestingly this looked specifically at that. If the British Army demilitarizes, should the IRA completely decommission within three years? Seven people said yes, 76 said no?

MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

Yes and, you know, I think that that reflects the republican traditions and these are very strong beheld views. It will be a huge challenge and people should not underestimate the difficulty of the leadership of republicanism to deal with these issues. 

But we've made our position clear. This process can and will lead to the removal of all guns from Irish politics and from Irish society. You know Gerry Adams addressed it, you know, as directly as one could at the weekend and he said, can we envisage a future without the IRA? He said yes.

WENDY AUSTIN

David Trimble says, time's running out, you've delayed and delayed, you can't delay any longer. If moves aren't made now then you're going to miss this window of opportunity, briefly?

MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

Well it's a bit ironic. You know, David Trimble is the person who has ducked away, who has walked away, who has delayed, who has obstructed. Now if that indicates a new approach from him then I welcome that very much and we look forward to doing business with him. We're available today if he wants to phone us.

March 31, 2003
Program: UTV Live
Subject P Danagher - Sinn Féin Conference

PAUL CLARKE

The Sinn Féin President has said there is nervousness among party members about the leadership's strategy.

KATE SMITH

At his party's Ard Fheis in Dublin three quarters of delegates voted against joining the Policing Board, despite the fact that senior members said the party would eventually join.

PATRICIA DANAGHER

As the 2,000 or so Sinn Féin delegates from across the island gathered in Dublin's RDS this weekend along with VIPs and diplomats, there was a lot of reflection going on, on how far the party had come in the past 10 years, and what changes its members had been asked to bear. 

The issue of policing was at the forefront of the agenda over most of the weekend, but the bulk of the delegates resolutely opposed to Sinn Féin taking its place on the Policing Board. Gerry Adams, who 10 years ago was banned from the airwaves, for the first time had his speech broadcast live on RTE, though reflecting on the recent decade he also looked forward to a future without the IRA.

GERRY ADAMS

So can I envisage a future without the IRA? The answer is obvious, the answer is yes. Sinn Féin is about making peace.

PATRICIA DANAGHER

Sinn Féin had high political ambitions. In the Dail where it secured 5 seats last summer, in the European Parliament where it has just named its candidates for next year, and of course in May, the Assembly elections. It was the task given to Veteran Republican Joe Cahill to rally the troops to pull out all the stops in canvassing over the next 8 weeks.

JOE CAHILL

This is a tremendous opportunity for us, to prove that we are a force in this country, that we will be a force in this country. We have won the war, let us win the peace.

PATRICIA DANAGHER

Issues such as the release of the 5 men convicted in relation to the murder of Detective Garda Gerry McCabe were also raised. Dublin TD Sean Crowe who has attended the trial of the Colombia 3 had this to say.

SEAN CROWE

The reality is there is no evidence against these men, they have been found guilty by the Colombian State, they have been found guilty by the media, but the reality there's no evidence against these men Š

PATRICIA DANAGHER

And given the changes of the past 10 years, the Party President acknowledges there is nervousness among Sinn Féin membership about what's coming down the tracks next.

GERRY ADAMS

But there have been times of great unease. There have been times when people, you know maybe took a tactical position, but I think they now understand the strategy. I also think that there's a bit of nervousness about, because they know that we're going into finish another bout of negotiations, they know that within a few short weeks there's going to be announcements by the 2 Governments, and they're probably waiting to weigh up what we're going to tell them.