Political News Synopsis: IRA and Armed Struggle 

Some republicans are in a state of shock over the dramatic appeal to the IRA to embrace pure politics and give up the armed struggle Gerry Adams claimed last night. Others welcomed the initiative and some are bewildered he said as he called on the IRA to take ownership of this debate. Belfast Telegraph P14. The IRA was last night considering whether its armed struggle could continue. Belfast Telegraph P14. In its Viewpoint Belfast Telegraph P24 the gauntlet has been thrown down to the IRA and a positive and unconditional response to Mr Adams' appeal is vital. To put it bluntly, the position is "they have to go away you know". 

The Sinn Fein President declared his landmark appeal for the IRA to embrace purely political activities was not initiated to fail. Two leading US congressmen Richard Neal and Joseph Crowley gave support for the Sinn Fein initiative. Daily Ireland P5. In its Editorial Daily Ireland P14 the reaction to the Adams' call for the IRA to depart the stage was as wearying as it was predictable. Sinn Fein's advice is good and sound and the IRA would do well to take it. But the advice on moving forward applies to more than the IRA. 

Unionism indicated last night that it was not listening to the latest round of republican word games. News Letter P8. Mr Adams said that he had made his appeal to the IRA because the peace process was in deep crisis and the atmosphere was getting poisonous. Mark Durkan of SDLP said "I want to see the IRA and loyalists go away for good. But we've heard words from Sinn Fein and the IRA before elections, only to have them withdrawn afterwards". US Government spokesman Richard Boucher welcomed the Sinn Fein call and awaits concrete actions by the IRA to support the policy advocated by Mr Adams. Irish News P16, Irish Times P8, Irish Independent P16, Daily Star P1, 12, Independent P18. 

Speaking in London, Sinn Fein MP, Pat Doherty said, the IRA should lead by example and unilaterally abandon paramilitary violence and adopt a purely political strategy. Guardian P9, In its Editorial Guardian P25 the Adams call needs actions not words Sinn Fein's action has an immediate motive to boost its credibility in order to obliterate the SDLP from its remaining 3 seats at Westminster. But this could be a significant moment. The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Archbishop Sean Brady welcomed the Adams statement "People are weary of the old ways of the past. A new and a better way is possible. This is the way of exclusively political and democratic activity, the way of patient dialogue and understanding, the way of equality and integrity with shared responsibility for our common future and success". Times P14, Mirror P2, Sun P20. UK Unionist Bob McCartney said he was disappointed in Archbishop Brady's statement and David Burnside of the UUP said the Adams statement was contemptible in the extreme. DUP Nigel Dodds said words are not enough and Jim Allister MEP said they were the same old empty words, their actions say different. News Letter P9.

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Adams Looks at IRA Future

Program: Hearts and Minds – Gerry Adams
Date & Time April 24, 2005 – 23.45
Subject: Elections/peace process

NOEL THOMPSON

We begin with the latest in our series of election interviews with the party leaders. My guest this evening, the Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

Two unionist manifestos both urging that politics should proceed without Sinn Fein, all these years after the Good Friday Agreement you’d have to agree that this process is in big trouble and you’d have to accept your part of the responsibility for that wouldn’t you?

GERRY ADAMS

Well I think there’s a collective responsibility, if politics doesn’t work you have to blame the politicians. Incidentally the position of DUP and the UUP on this issue of voluntary coalition, it’s the same as Eddie McGrady’s and Alisdair McDonnell’s, so they’re taking some succor from the divisions within the SDLP. 

NOEL THOMPSON

But the SDLP, of course, has in its manifesto set itself completely against such a thing?

GERRY ADAMS

Well I welcome that, but they need to get their own act in order on this issue. I mean the very fact that the process is in deep difficulty is why I took the unprecedented step of publicly appealing to the IRA as I did on 6th April, for two reasons, two main reasons. One, I thought the peace process, which is different from the political process, was going down the tubes. 

I sat and thought about it, that if this election saw a hardening up of unionist attitudes, we come out of the election into the marching season, before we know it it’s the autumn, stagnation, vacuum continues, the atmosphere has already been poisonous since the beginning of this year. And then the second reason is that the IRA is being used as an excuse by those who don’t want the process to continue. So I think there are big decisions to be taken by Irish republicans in the time ahead of us and I certainly want to be part of the decisions, being the right decisions.

NOEL THOMPSON

But you said that part of the reason that you made that statement was that you said, there now exists an alternative to armed struggle. Did that alternative not come into existence with the Good Friday Agreement, if not indeed before that? Why 2005?

GERRY ADAMS

Well the beginning of the process is accepted by most people as the Hume/Adams discussions and as part of that, and I was…

NOEL THOMPSON

But that’s even further back.

GERRY ADAMS

Oh yes, absolutely, but I have always argued…

NOEL THOMPSON

It’s taken them a long time to catch up…

GERRY ADAMS

But listen, Noel. I’ve always argued the need for an alternative. Now the fact is there is an alternative, it isn’t working, but it isn’t working not least because some elements who should be playing a leadership role don’t want to see the type of changes which the Good Friday Agreement contains and don’t want to see movement forward beyond that, towards Irish unity and independence. And it’s they who are using the IRA as the excuse for their non…

NOEL THOMPSON

So the IRA is making it very easy for them isn’t it? I mean it’s engaged in criminality, it’s engaged in punishment shootings, it’s engaged in recruiting, Bertie Ahern says as lately as last weekend, involved in cross over activity into criminality, recruiting. All those sorts of things, it’s making it very easy…

GERRY ADAMS

Well that’s exactly the point that I have made earlier and I don’t really want to dispute or get into any or all of that. What I want to say is…

NOEL THOMPSON

It’s a pretty crucial statement from the Taoiseach isn’t it?

GERRY ADAMS

No, but bear with me, the reason I don’t want to get into it, because we’ve only got a 15 minute interview here. What I want to focus in is on the future because what I have said to the IRA is that there is now an alternative and you should take yourselves out of the equation. Now I have tried to say that in language which will have the desired result and I also, and you might want to argue with me about this, I believe that the organization of the IRA, it’s volunteers and its support base, should have the space to have a proper debate on those issues.

NOEL THOMPSON

But what have they been doing, I will argue on that point, what have they been doing for the last 10 years?

GERRY ADAMS

Well with respect, if I may say so, I think that they’re the only organization of the armed organizations in this part of the island which has fully embraced the peace process, which triggered off the other cessations by other organizations, excluding the British Army and its surrogates, which has engaged with the IICD, which has put, and all the unionists acknowledge this clearly, significant amounts of …

NOEL THOMPSON

So if they have been doing that, why do they now need to engage in this great period of introspection, self examination? Hasn’t that already been done?

GERRY ADAMS

Well the difference now is, and I go back because you may have missed a point, it is my view if this process had continued, because we have had years of vacuum, we’ve had years of stagnation, if it had continued that the whole peace process would have went down the tubes. And what I have tried to do is head that off at the pass, is leap frog over that, is to say to republicans in language which I hope they will listen to and reflect upon that there is an alternative. Now I want in this course of this election, and I make no bones about this and I’m not at all shy about this, to ask people to support the initiative which I have taken. Is because…

NOEL THOMPSON

I’m just amazed that you’re still having to do that, are you not amazed that you’re still having to do that?

GERRY ADAMS

Well I mean if I didn’t do it would Ian Paisley have done it? 

NOEL THOMPSON

I mean someone…

GERRY ADAMS

No, bear with me, Noel. Would David Trimble have done it? Would you expect…

NOEL THOMPSON

He will say he did do it of course.

GERRY ADAMS

Hold on, would you expect Michael McDowell to ride forward and take a bold initiative? 

NOEL THOMPSON

Well David Trimble will say he did. ‘We have jumped, Mr Adams, now it’s your turn’ he said on three occasions.

GERRY ADAMS

Hold on, or Paul Murphy? Would you expect any of those people to come forward and try and save this process?

NOEL THOMPSON

But would you answer my question or my statement? David Trimble will say he did that.

GERRY ADAMS

Well I’m here talking on behalf of Sinn Fein.

NOEL THOMPSON

Well you asked that question, would he do it, I’m telling you he would say he did.

GERRY ADAMS

Well with respect he hasn’t done it, with respect, and you asked me in your very first question, would I accept responsibility for the difficulties the process is in, and I said, yes, if politics doesn’t work then the politicians have to take the blame for that, and I include Ian Paisley, I include all the other leaders in that and I include myself, because what I have tried to do by this initiative is to make politics work. To try and show some leadership in this situation.

NOEL THOMPSON

Your statement, or your appeal as you would put it, didn’t make any mention of criminality which many would say is now a bigger issue than decommissioning. Again, the Taoiseach is saying it, Dermot Ahern is saying, he made it very clear to Sinn Fein in January that there were two outstanding issues, decommissioning and criminality, you didn’t even mention it?

GERRY ADAMS

But Noel, republicans would dispute the term criminality in regard to any alleged activities they may or may not be involved in …

NOEL THOMPSON

… killing Gerry McCabe, would that be criminality in republican views?

GERRY ADAMS

Hold on, what I am saying is that I want the IRA to end all activity. Now I mightn’t use exactly the type of language you may want me to use, but I mean all activity. I want to see the end of all activity, that’s what I want to see. And in case you don’t know, in case you don’t know, by the way Noel, there’s an election, now can we get round to talking about the election? Sinn Fein is standing …

NOEL THOMPSON

Well these are very important issues, you know that.

GERRY ADAMS

Hold on, Sinn Fein is standing 183 local Government candidates. There is not one council which is any longer a no go area for Sinn Fein representatives, and I want to appeal to people to vote for those candidates. Sinn Fein is also contesting all 18 of the Westminster constituencies and I want people there to look at our record and to look to the future, because this election is essentially about the future, it’s about building peace, it’s about rebuilding the Good Friday Agreement, it’s about making peace between unionists and the rest of us, and it’s about moving forward …

NOEL THOMPSON

That’s why I’m discussing these things, that (unclear) to be blocking that …

GERRY ADAMS

… and it’s about moving forward into a united Ireland and into an all-Ireland republic.

NOEL THOMPSON

You did release a paper today on Irish unity which might be a bit previous some might say, because you’re a long way from creating unity in this part of the island never mind the whole island?

GERRY ADAMS

Well I don’t think we’re doing so bad, with respect.

NOEL THOMPSON

The two unionist parties saying, we don’t want anything to do with Sinn Fein.

GERRY ADAMS

Now, now, but listen Noel, in our lifetimes and in your broadcasting career we used to not even be interviewed and it used to be that your news would have had a daily litany of deaths through the violent conflict, now at least people are shouting at each other as opposed to shooting at each other. And there is a lot of work to be done, I don’t underestimate and I’ll repeat what I said before about the seriousness of the current situation which led me to take the initiative that I took. So I mean, what would you expect the unionists to say? What would you expect the unionists to say in the middle of …?

NOEL THOMPSON

Well it might have been very different after December, because the IRA itself said the agreement there would have allowed everyone including the IRA to take their political objectives forward by peaceful and democratic means.

GERRY ADAMS

And who thwarted that agreement?

NOEL THOMPSON

Well the IRA, say some people.

GERRY ADAMS

Well I think actually the people who thwarted it was on the one hand Ian Paisley and on the other hand the two Governments, and I said this to both the Prime Minister and to the Taoiseach, because for them to go along with Ian Paisley’s absurd demand, and they would argue they wouldn’t have got him on board at all, at all. Part of what I’m trying to do in terms of this initiative is to make it very, very obvious to the Governments that they cannot hide behind the IRA.

NOEL THOMPSON

… Ian Paisley told the Irish Government just a few weeks ago even after the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Robert McCartney that he was prepared if the IRA disappeared to get right into power-sharing, what more do you want?

GERRY ADAMS

Well why didn’t he do it in December?

NOEL THOMPSON

Because the IRA hadn’t gone away, it’s obvious.

GERRY ADAMS

Because you see, let’s not, let’s not, because you will be covering, please God, these affairs for a long time to come, and you will be covering Ian Paisley resisting every movement towards equality, every movement towards equity, every movement which gives the people a fair crack of the whip, and we have no illusions about that, and I look forward to that challenge. Sinn Fein is up to that challenge, we don’t stand with lollipop sticks in the middle of the road. 

We recognize the DUP’s mandate, we respect their mandate, we disagree profoundly with them, we think they want to do a deal, we think they will only do a deal on the terms of the Good Friday Agreement if the two Governments commit themselves to that Agreement, and make it very, very clear. And in that regard I do welcome the Taoiseach’s remarks that he will not go along with the DUP and the UUP on this nonsense of a so called voluntary coalition.

NOEL THOMPSON

Do you know who killed Robert McCartney?

GERRY ADAMS

No I don’t know 100%, I have heard names bandied about, but I’ll tell you one thing …

NOEL THOMPSON

Have you heard the same name that the IRA told the McCartney family?

GERRY ADAMS

Hold on, hold on, I’ll tell you one thing. The PSNI, Noel, it is a matter of some considerable incredulity to me, and I travel a little bit as you do. A high profile murder witness in New York, or London or Dublin would not have chief suspects walking about without being investigated, without being questioned, and would not have the witnesses …

NOEL THOMPSON

Do you know they haven’t been questioned, are you saying they haven’t been questioned?

GERRY ADAMS

I’m saying, it’s a matter of public record. I mean 70 people we are told were in Magennis’s bar, were those people questioned? They weren’t questioned.

NOEL THOMPSON

Quite a lot of them have been...

GERRY ADAMS

Now hold on…

NOEL THOMPSON

…and they said nothing we understand. We understand, some suspects sit and look at the floor and say nothing and you have made it a big (unclear) that you are completely behind the McCartney family’s quest for justice on this. Now you say you don’t know the names?

GERRY ADAMS

No I don’t know the names. I do know names of suspects, but I am not in charge of a criminal investigation. And let me repeat this now, Noel, I do support the McCartney family and I do support them in their demand that their brother’s killers appear in court to be accountable for their actions, and I have said that very, very clearly…

NOEL THOMPSON

(unclear) no actions.

GERRY ADAMS

Well what action should I take? Tell me, Noel.

NOEL THOMPSON

Well you are…

GERRY ADAMS

No, no, you tell me…

NOEL THOMPSON

…the republican movement, the republican movement has made it very clear, I’m not going to tell you what you should do.

GERRY ADAMS

No, no please do.

NOEL THOMPSON

The McCartney sisters might say, make these people go to the police and say what they know.

GERRY ADAMS

And how would you do that?

NOEL THOMPSON

It’s not for me to say.

GERRY ADAMS

It is.

NOEL THOMPSON

It’s for you to find a way…

GERRY ADAMS

No, but hold on..

NOEL THOMPSON

If you’re so keen in helping them, you are the leader of the republican movement, these are republicans, you must find a way to do it surely?

GERRY ADAMS

No these are not republicans. The people who killed Robert McCartney, whatever they did before that, ceased to be republicans when the brought the good name of republicans into the dirt.

NOEL THOMPSON

So you are shedding all responsibility for (unclear)?

GERRY ADAMS

No, hold on a second, and I just want to come back to this point because this is the point that’s bandied about all the time, and it’s cynically manipulated and exploited by our political opponents. I cannot and would not force a person to make a confession, and even if I could, and I wouldn’t, because this is what you’re asking me to do, that would be thrown out of court tomorrow morning like that, quite rightly and quite justifiably…

NOEL THOMPSON

You could use your influence to try and persuade those people that that is what they should do?

GERRY ADAMS

Have we not done that? Have we not said…

NOEL THOMPSON

Maybe you should try again?

GERRY ADAMS

Well we are continuing to try, we haven’t given up in all the flurry of the nonsense that passes for the media coverage.

NOEL THOMPSON

The suspects are going into talk to the police and saying nothing.

GERRY ADAMS

Noel, there was a picket on this building of the BBC today by victims of killings which the BBC even refuses to focus attention on. Now I support the McCartney family and I do so and I will do so until they have the justice that they deserve.

NOEL THOMPSON

Do you think there is more you can do?

GERRY ADAMS

Well if there is tell me what it is?

NOEL THOMPSON

Well I’m asking you if you think there is more you can do?

GERRY ADAMS

Well anything I can do, additional to what I have done, I will do and I go back to the point I made at the very beginning. The PSNI are responsible for criminal investigations and the PSNI, in my view, have lots of information about this case and have not moved to prosecute those who are culpable for the murder of Robert McCartney.

NOEL THOMPSON

And why would you suggest they were doing that?

GERRY ADAMS

That’s not for me to characterize that, you characterize it.

NOEL THOMPSON

Well I’ll ask them the next time I have a chance to speak to them.

GERRY ADAMS

It will be the first time they’ve been asked.

NOEL THOMPSON

Okay, people say that you are very interested in this election, as in every election, in the process but not in the peace. What Sinn Fein wants to do is to keep this process spun out as long as it possibly can. You have said that there will be daily battles in, as you put it, those who want maximum change, a united Ireland, and those who want the status quo. So it’s in your interest, is it not, whatever happens in this election, to keep the uncertainty and the process going?

GERRY ADAMS

No it isn’t , it’s not in my personal interest, just as a human being, to go through the same déjà vu negotiation time after another. It’s not in the interests of the political process, it’s not in the interests of building public confidence. Let me tell you what people are saying to me on the doorsteps around these issues. People are concerned about the lack of health services, they’re concerned about education cuts. People are concerned about old age pensions, people are concerned about how we get an education process. How we deal with the housing crisis…

NOEL THOMPSON

In one very quick sentence, you’re not even producing a manifesto until the end of next week. You’re not giving people much time to absorb your policies are you?

GERRY ADAMS

Well, we work these elections as we work these elections. People can get our manifesto, read our manifesto and you know where the election is going to be won? On the doorsteps where I have been every single day in every one of these constituencies talking to people.