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2 October 1997 Edition

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Don't believe everything you read

BY SEAN Mac BRADAIGH

The past week has underlined the necessity for Irish republicans to listen closely to what Sinn Féin leaders say, as opposed to what others claim they say.

As has been the case for almost three decades, sections of the Irish and British media will consistently misinterpret and misrepresent both the intentions and actions of republican leaders. This can be deliberate or unintentional, depending on the source from which it emanates.

The latest twist to this longstanding feature of Irish politics concerns Sinn Féin's position in relation to peace negotiations and republican objectives at the Stormont talks.

In recent weeks there has been a plethora of newspaper reports that Sinn Féin has lowered it sights in relation to the achievement of a united Ireland, that it will accept partition or that it will sign up to an agreement which amounts to an internal settlement in the Six Counties.

In fact this has been a recurring theme since the IRA cessation of 1994. Since this period elements in the media have equated republican peace initiatives with a dilution of republican politics. In doing this they have often elevated the views of minor political groupings critical of the Sinn Féin leadership to an importance far outweighing their political significance.

They have also ignored repeated statements of intent by Sinn Féin spokespersons and have instead consistently honed in on off-the-cuff remarks and have taken other comments out of context, inflating their importance, distorting their meaning and presenting them as milestones in a general change of political direction by Sinn Féin.

This media theme has most recently been picked up by unionist spokespersons. An example is David Trimble's recent contention that Sinn Féin had taken its ``first faltering steps towards accepting partition''. Of course if David Trimble really believed this he would not have spent the last months avoiding talks which include Sinn Féin and would not still be trying to avoid Sinn Féin at Stormont.

Other reports - taken out of context - trumpeted that Sinn Féin's bottom line in negotiations would be the 1995 framework document, rather than what it is - Irish national self-determination.

The most recent example has been the Sunday Tribune of 28 September. Headlined, ``Sinn Féin will accept partition in talks-Burke'', a story by Ed Moloney claimed that 26-County Foreign Affairs Minister Ray Burke told journalists in Washington that Sinn Féin would ``accept a compromise at the Stormont inter-party talks which will fall short of a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland or Irish unity.''

Moloney based his article on comments gleaned from an interview with Burke in the Chicago Tribune. Nowhere in Moloney's article however was Burke actually quoted as saying that Sinn F´ín would accept partition. It was, in effect, a third-hand account.

On Tuesday, 30 September, Caoimhghín O Caoláin, Sinn Féin TD for Cavan/Monaghan called on Ray Burke to clarify the comments attributed to him in the Sunday Tribune. O Caoláin said that Sinn Féin was committed to Irish unity. He said: ``Sinn Féin is a republican party. We are committed to achieving a united Ireland. It is in pursuit of this goal that we will negotiate in any talks process.

``A united Ireland is both a viable and legitimate option and is one that is still supported by the majority of the Irish people as their preferred option.

``Recent claims by sections of the media that Sinn Féin no longer believes that Irish unity is attainable are both factually incorrect and mischievous. These stories are clearly at odds with Sinn Féin's stance in these negotiations.

``In that light it is important that Minister Burke clarify comments which were attributed to him in a story in a Sunday newspaper saying that Sinn Féin would accept partition.''

Later the same day Gerry Adams reiterated the party's commitment to a united Ireland and also pointed out that ``this needs to be the objective also of the Irish government''.

The issue surfaced in Leinster House on the same day. Responding to questions from Labour Party leader Dick Spring, Burke denied that any discussions with Sinn Féin about compromising on issues such as a united Ireland had ever taken place.

The important thing to remember in all of this is the agenda. While censorship was in place North and South it was easy for elements of the media to misrepresent republicans. They simply didn't cover anything they said. Things have now become more subtle and in some ways more dangerous. In the days when violent incidents involving the IRA were common occurrence, it was these which politicians and journalists chose to misrepresent. Now that we are in a phase of political struggle which primarily involves political argument, every sentence and nuance can be misinterpreted.

It suits the enemies of republicans to put out the message that republican leaders have changed their political objectives. It can confuse other republicans and discourage political opponents of republicans from coming to terms with the demands of those whom Sinn Féin represents.

There is also a political consensus in some media circles which attempts to create the illusion of dramatic political breakthrough, and this before negotiations even begin. The motive is obvious; dramatic headlines sell papers. What better way to create the illusion of a breakthrough than to claim that one party to negotiations has unilaterally ditched its objectives? And there is also the constant attempt by journalists, not only in relation to Sinn Féin, to have participants to the talks process negotiating over the airwaves or in the columns of newspapers.

The important thing is that republicans see these ploys for what they are. The message has to be: don't believe everything you read in the papers.

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