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24 June 1999 Edition

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Process hangs in the balance

Political negotiations are at their most critical stage since the start of the peace process. The whole future of the process itself hangs in the balance as the latest deadline for agreement on the formation of the Executive approaches.

If anyone needed reminding of how crucial it is that progress in the direction of political change be achieved, they witnessed it this week. There were further revelations about official British military and RUC collusion in the assassination of laywers Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson and the credibility of RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan was called into question by a United Nations official.

Meanwhile sectarian tension in the North mounted with the continuing Orange siege of the nationalist Garvaghy Road and loyalist preparations for a march from Derry to Portadown. It was also announced that British army reinforcements are to be sent to the Six Counties, bringing the numbers there to 17,000. Recent weeks have also seen continuing loyalist attacks against nationalist civilians. This is the backdrop to the current crisis and it provides an indicator of what was supposed to be put behind us with the Good Friday Agreement.

Unless political change is pursued with vigour by those who can deliver it, the Six Counties will remain the violent, sectarian backwater it has been for decades and the hopes of the Irish people north and south will be confounded. Politics will have failed our people.

The person with the power to deliver political change is the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He must now press ahead with an agenda for change. Regardless of the outcome of political talks over the coming week and the future of the Agreement itself, many of the issues addressed by the Agreement, such as human rights and equality and an acceptable policing service, are the responsibility of the British government as long as it claims jurisdiction over the Six Counties. The Irish government also has an onerous responsibility to defend the rights and interests of Irish citizens in the Six Counties.

Whatver the outcome, republicans approach the talks in good faith and with a willingness to do all in our power to make them work.


An Phoblacht
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Dublin 1
Ireland