Issue 126, Saoirse : Irish Freedom (October, 1997)

              uimh126 deireadh f6mhair — october 1997 the leader of the 26-county administration bertie ahern's comments on rte on september 28 last that he was prepared to be flexible on the framework document in the stormont talks process shows clearly how safe the union is at the negotiations all the participants unionists sdlp provisionals dublin and the leinster house opposition parties the british government have accepted the unionist veto which is one of the two pillars on which the process is built they are totally involved in the process which has shelved for the present the question of the surrender of arms or decommissioning*1 which is the other pillar 50p usa 1 nationalist nightmare continues a campaign of burning nationalist families out of their homes in predominantly loyalist areas of belfast and county antrim has escalated in recent times at the same time the 12-month scandal of the catholic church picket by loyalists in harryville resumed as the british government fails to protect the right to freedom to worship without intimidation and abuse — see page 8 inside — all the participants have signed up for the mitchell principles which con solidates the unionist veto those adhering to the principles agree to abide by the terms of any agreement reached in all-party negotiations the basis of these principles is the downing street declaration which enshrines the unionist veto so that 18 of the population of this island can decide the future of the other 82 with this remarkable consensus we can take it as read that any settlement coming out of the talks if in fact it does achieve a result could only be a new stormont under british rule all that is at issue at these stormont talks therefore is how much the unionists succeed in minimising the so-called irish dimension or cross border boards the unionists have been posturing from the beginning of these talks secure in their bottom line of maintaining the union and seeking the minimum amount of change in this regard the position of ken maginnis is crucial he represents what is going to come out of the process rather than the new stormont an obstacle not a stepping stone supreme now m vg ^ | irrangemenl rather than a stepping-stone h | c l a k -^ ¦ • „—----"* there we'll throw that nasty one away an ian knox cartoon from the irish news belfast of september 26 last puffing and blowing of david trimble all the participants once they sit around the table have a hand in shaping the settlement if such emerges at all and will be involved in operating the settlement this means securing and defending the settlement against those who would want to upset it from an irish republican viewpoint those who continue the struggle will be faced with this new arrangement in an interview on rte radio's this week programme september 28 republican sinn fein president ruairi 6 bradaigh referred to john kenneth galbraith's maxim that revolution is like kicking in a rotten door rotten instead of the rotten door of the old stormont which was demolished by irish resistance in 1972 he said we will if this process produces a settlement be facing a new steel reinforced door which will be much more difficult to deal with the new stormont will be that reinforced door and it will represent an obstacle on the road to irish freedom rather than a stepping-stone to it as the apologists for this process would have us believe as we went to press the 26-county police them selves established 75 years ago as a stepping-stone to irish freedom were raiding the home of ruairi o bradaigh in roscommon nationalists sold out once again the establishments in britain and leinster house realise that it is republican sinn fein and its message of a free and independent ireland — the eire nua proposal of a federation of the four provinces — that would end the partition of ulster as well as the partition of ireland that constitutes jjjjj$fml the real threat to british rule . belfast wall mural — the downing street declaration in this country forms the basis of the current stormont talks iefublican u all cumainn must return resolution/nomination delegate forms immediately pdblachtach i mbaile atha cliath samhain november for further details/visitors cards contact ard oifig 223 sraid pharnell bac 1 teil 872 9747 facs 872 9757