20 years after IRA cessation – Gerry Adams writes in ‘The Guardian’

WRITING IN TODAY’S Guardian newspaper, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams TD says the British Government has made no effort on outstanding issues from the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements.

The article marks the 20th anniversary of the IRA cessation of 1994.

Gerry Adams also says that Tory proposals for changes to the welfare system are part of a Thatcherite agenda designed to dismantle the welfare state.

The Sinn Féin President says an anti-Good Friday Agreement axis within unionism, the pro-unionist stance of British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers, Downing Street’s refusal to honour its obligations, and its efforts to impose welfare cuts have combined to create the most serious threat to the political institutions in the North in recent years.

Gerry Adams says:

“Most worryingly, there is no evidence from Downing Street, the Northern Ireland Office or unionist leaderships of any likelihood of a negotiation on outstanding issues.

“Political logjams have been reinforced. This is seen in a failure to support the Haass compromise proposals on dealing with legacy issues including flags, symbols and parades, and in the speed with which the Cameron government acquiesced to Peter Robinson’s demand to establish the Hallett inquiry into so-called ‘On the Runs’ (OTRs).

“The British Government has made no effort on outstanding issues including a Bill of Rights, an Irish Language Act, the North-South consultative forum, and the inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane.

“These are not matters for negotiation but agreements made.

“In addition, the Tory-led Government wants to impose changes to the welfare system mirroring those introduced in England, Scotland and Wales with disastrous consequences for the disabled, unemployed and the low-paid. These changes are part of a Thatcherite agenda designed to dismantle the welfare state. Sinn Féin will oppose them.”

Gerry Adams reiterates that Sinn Féin is committed to the Good Friday Agreement and the political institutions and will resist efforts by unionist leaders to roll things back.

“The deepening political crisis puts the onus on the Irish and British governments to create a different political context. This requires the two governments, in conjunction with the US administration, to establish a pro-agreement axis among parties in the North.

“It means the Irish and British governments making progress on issues that are their direct responsibility. Twenty years on, it is vital that positive change takes the place of political inertia.”

●  Gerry Adams’s article can be read in full here.