Downing Street Says » Northern Ireland

Asked if there were any plans for the Prime Minister to meet the Sinn Fein leadership in the coming weeks. The PMOS replied that as we had already indicated last week, they would meet at some point and the purpose of the meeting would be to deliver a very simple message: there could be no deal with Republicans, and no point in negotiating with Republicans unless there was an end to both criminal and paramilitary activity. That was the message that the Prime Minister had delivered for the past 2½ years and that was the message the Prime Minister believed. As the Prime Minister had said in the House of Commons yesterday, if that message was not going to be acted on, then it inevitably meant we needed to think about other ways. The Prime Minister believed it was better to deliver the message to Sinn Fein so there was no misunderstanding at all.

Asked if a face-to-face meeting could be misinterpreted as a kind of "reward", the PMOS should it should be interpreted as what it really was. This Prime Minister was not afraid to put the argument in person and in public, and believed it was more important that Sinn Fein understood completely in earnest about this. The PMOS recounted Paul Murphy’s words that we were one hundred per cent convinced that the IRA was involved in the robbery, as were the Irish Government, and that was a view that was shared by all political parties in Ireland, with the exception of Sinn Fein. Therefore, Sinn Fein needed to understand that there was a united position on the situation, and the Prime Minister thought it was right and proper to personally deliver the message.

When asked about timetabling the meetings, the PMOS said that they were being drawn up, but there would be a succession of meetings between a variety of parties, including the Irish Government. It would be an assessment of the situation. The Taoiseach was away in China at the moment, and a meeting needed to be had with him; likewise, we had also already met Dr. Ian Paisley of the DUP and we had been in contact with the Ulster Unionists too.

Asked if Sinn Fein would be entering No10 through the main front door, and if so, how would that look, the PMOS said we would meet them where we would meet them. What was important was wherever we met them, the message was loud and clear.

Asked if that meant they would go in through the back door instead, the PMOS said he was not aware a venue had finally been decided at this time.

Asked if the Prime Minister was prepared to meet Sinn Fein at No10, the PMOS said where he met them was secondary. Put to him again that it was not secondary, but rather, highly symbolic, the PMOS said he had answered the question already, as decisions on the meeting location had not been finalised. As soon as they were, we would let people know. What was important was that people recognised what the message was from all sides.

Asked why it took the Prime Minister more that 2 years to get out the same message, the PMOS replied that in that time, we had seen considerable progress on a commitment of arms decommissioning, and also the IRA addressing the issue of committing to an end to paramilitary activity. What we had not seen, however, was deliverance, and the message Sinn Fein needed to get was it was only on deliverance of a complete end to criminal activity that there could a prospect of a deal.

Asked again that where the message would be delivered would therefore be an important part of the message, the PMOS said that under this Prime Minister, we had seen a larger transition from violence than had previously happened. Nobody should underestimate the progress that had been made, but at the same time, there was no attempt to hide what the problem was nor was there any attempt to excuse what had happened or disguise the message we would give. It would be clear and simple and loud.

Asked again whether the Prime Minister would express disapproval in any way, the PMOS said he did not know where to begin. We had fully supported the Chief Constable in his investigation, and there was no devolution, as there had not been for over two years now. The message the Prime Minister had given the IRA was very straightforward, and one could not, in any honesty, say that the robbery had not made any impact on what the Prime Minister said. It made a huge impact. The impact was felt in Northern Ireland on a daily basis, where there was not a local Government, but rather a direct rule Government. The important thing was that we tried to deliver a solution that both sides of the community could support, and that was difficult.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought Mr. Adams and Mr McGuiness were being "duped" by the IRA as they had both recently denied the robbery was anything to do with the IRA, the PMOS said the journalist had reflected a legitimate question. The victims of the IRA robbery were not only the two families who were taken hostage and treated in a very cruel way, but also the credibility of the peace process. Therefore, everyone had to understand that the credibility could only be restored whenever there was a clear end to such activities.

Asked if that meant they had to accept responsibility for the robbery, the PMOS said they were matters that would have to be discussed. He was not going to get into a negotiation. What had to be made clear was that this kind of activity simply could not continue, or as the Prime Minister had said yesterday we would have to look at another way.

1 Comment »

My understanding of the British legal system was that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
We have been offered not one shred of proof.
I smell a rat.

Has anyone got a clue what is "really" going on?
Comment by Roger Huffadine — 22 Jan 2005 on 11:32 am | Link

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» Thursday, January 20, 2005

Northern Ireland

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