MCGUINNESS ATTEMPTS TO BRING REAL IRA IN FROM THE COLD
McGuinness attempts to bring Real IRA in from the cold
SINN FEIN'S Martin McGuinness has invited those responsible for the Omagh bombing to talks with his party in a bid to bring them on board in the peace process. Mr McGuinness said the party had a policy of being open to talks with those willing to talk with them but in the case of the Real IRA, who planted the devastating bomb, he would like to make a deliberate attempt to set up a meeting.
He said it was a "source of dismay" to him that there was a small group of people claiming to be republicans who thought they could destroy all the party had worked to achieve in recent years and he called on the bombers to support those supporting the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McGuinness made his comments in an interview on RTE radio yesterday during which he also called on the unionist leadership to enter dialogue with Sinn Fein and to stop using decommissioning as an excuse not to let talks get under way.
He said unionists had to "face up to the reality" that Sinn Fein was a major political force with a growing vote and that dialogue with the party was necessary for the rapid implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
"Right throughout all of this, the unionist strategy has been to prevent and delay discussions taking place with us. Unionists have used the issue to prevent discussions taking place," he said.
"What we need to see as a matter of urgency is the unionist leadership recognising that within the broad community in the north, there is a demand that all political leaders engage in talks."
On the same programme, the north's Deputy First Minister, Seamus Mallon, said he was prepared to do whatever he could to facilitate dialogue between the two political opponents.
But he also called for action on decommissioning, blaming it for "distorting the political process" and saying the sooner it was dealt with, the better.
"Sinn Fein can make political space for the Ulster Unionists and allow the unionist community within the North to have space in which to respond," he said.
At the same time, he added, the Ulster Unionists should enter into dialogue with Sinn Fein so that both could proceed, not as two separate political units but as a united political process.
Mr Mallon also said it was regrettable that emergency powers were having to be enacted at this time when the reduction of such powers was one of the positive results of the peace process - but he said the Irish and British governments had no other choice.
He called on both governments not to leave the tightened powers in place indefinitely and asked them for them to be scrapped as soon as some sense of normality was re-established.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
SINN FEIN'S Martin McGuinness has invited those responsible for the Omagh bombing to talks with his party in a bid to bring them on board in the peace process. Mr McGuinness said the party had a policy of being open to talks with those willing to talk with them but in the case of the Real IRA, who planted the devastating bomb, he would like to make a deliberate attempt to set up a meeting.
He said it was a "source of dismay" to him that there was a small group of people claiming to be republicans who thought they could destroy all the party had worked to achieve in recent years and he called on the bombers to support those supporting the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McGuinness made his comments in an interview on RTE radio yesterday during which he also called on the unionist leadership to enter dialogue with Sinn Fein and to stop using decommissioning as an excuse not to let talks get under way.
He said unionists had to "face up to the reality" that Sinn Fein was a major political force with a growing vote and that dialogue with the party was necessary for the rapid implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
"Right throughout all of this, the unionist strategy has been to prevent and delay discussions taking place with us. Unionists have used the issue to prevent discussions taking place," he said.
"What we need to see as a matter of urgency is the unionist leadership recognising that within the broad community in the north, there is a demand that all political leaders engage in talks."
On the same programme, the north's Deputy First Minister, Seamus Mallon, said he was prepared to do whatever he could to facilitate dialogue between the two political opponents.
But he also called for action on decommissioning, blaming it for "distorting the political process" and saying the sooner it was dealt with, the better.
"Sinn Fein can make political space for the Ulster Unionists and allow the unionist community within the North to have space in which to respond," he said.
At the same time, he added, the Ulster Unionists should enter into dialogue with Sinn Fein so that both could proceed, not as two separate political units but as a united political process.
Mr Mallon also said it was regrettable that emergency powers were having to be enacted at this time when the reduction of such powers was one of the positive results of the peace process - but he said the Irish and British governments had no other choice.
He called on both governments not to leave the tightened powers in place indefinitely and asked them for them to be scrapped as soon as some sense of normality was re-established.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
Further Information
Publisher: THE EXAMINER
Ref: TEX/165
Published Date: 24-Aug-98
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