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16 December 2004 Edition

DUP must talk to Sinn Féin

16 December 2004

Writing in this week's An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin National Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin says that one of the main obstacles to success in resolving outstanding issues in the peace process is the refusal of the DUP to talk directly to Sinn Féin. Free article

No substitute for face-to-face dialogue

16 December 2004

Whatever interpretation or spin people put on the failure to cement an agreement last week, I believe that one of the main obstacles to success has been the refusal of the DUP to talk directly to Sinn Féin about its concerns. Free article

Seven days later

16 December 2004

The disappointment surrounding the breakdown of last week's talks was followed by a week of ups and downs for republicans. On Thursday, the IRA released the statement, through An Phoblacht, that everyone was waiting for. Free article

Don't lose sight of the progress made

16 December 2004

We carry here an edited version of the speech of Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin during this Wednesday's Leinster House debate on the peace process. Free article

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A busy week in the media

16 December 2004

It's been a busy week in the media, with most newspapers producing lengthy articles on the imagined state of play in the stalled Peace Process. Headlines and opinions have been diverse, with talk of 'self-indulgence' and 'dancing to tunes' and 'lights going out' and 'false dawns' and 'cancer' and 'purgatory' and accusations of lying and spin and 'speaking in tongues'. Free article

Making peace with guns

16 December 2004

This is a "defining moment" in the Peace Process, said Gerry Adams at a press conference last Thursday, a few hours after the IRA had issued what is clearly their most advanced position since the declaration of their first cessation in August 1994, ten years ago. Free article

The truth will out

16 December 2004

Last Friday evening, An Fhírinne, the group comprising relatives of those killed by collusion between the British state and unionist paramilitaries and survivors of these attacks, held a candlelit vigil outside Belfast City Hall. They were there to show that they will not rest until the British establishment is forced to admit the truth of what happened to their loved ones. Free article


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