Attempt By Loyalist To Stall Irish Peace Process Fails

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Saturday November 25, 2006 17:47

by Jay Dooling - Irish American Unity Conference

rdooling at swbell dot net

Irish America Wants US to Influence DUP to Share Power

Loyalist Michael Stone’s attempt to disrupt Stormont’s
proceedings demonstrates the critical need for a renewed
commitment towards peace by all parties and governments
involved in the recent assembly talks. The convicted killer
brazenly stormed into the Stormont building where
politicians were debating the restoration of the assembly.
Stone was armed with a gun, a knife and several makeshift bombs.

While the British and Irish governments have accepted
Paisley’s clarification statement as enough progress to
carry forward with the St Andrews Agreement, Irish America
still demands that the United States through the direct
influence of our State Department and Mitchell Reiss,
the President’s special envoy to N. Ireland, must
encourage the DUP to agree to enter government in
the duly elected Assembly.

On May 22, 2006 in the Assembly, Gerry Adams nominated
Ian Paisley as First Minister and Martin McGuinness as
Deputy First Minister in an attempt to restore the
devolved administration.

Sinn Fein has shown steadfast resolve in nominating Martin
McGuinness to serve as Deputy Minister while the DUP hasn’t
fully nominated Ian Paisley as First Minister. That
nomination would encourage movement towards peaceful
resolution and cooperate with the assembly.

The Police Service of N. Ireland (PSNI) has failed to
maintain security within N. Ireland as evidence yesterday
during Stone’s violent eruption in Stormont. Because the
PSNI has not demonstrated that it is accountable to the
community as a whole, Sinn Fein has not agree to sit on the
policing board.

In the light of continual disclosures of collusion between
the British army, the police force and loyalist
paramilitaries, which are still actively involved in
violent crime and have NOT disarmed, we believe that the US
government should encourage the British to disclose their
plans for devolving local policing authorities to the
northern Irish assembly.
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Contact: Deanna Turner

Irish American Unity Conference
National Office
611 Pennsylvania Ave, SE #4150
Washington, D.C. 20003
800-947-4282

http://www.iauc.org/
Email: iauc@iauc.org

National Press Officer: Jay Dooling
Email: rdooling@swbell.net

"Working for Justice and Peace in a Re-united Ireland”
The IRISH AMERICAN UNITY CONFERENCE is a nationwide,
nonpartisan, nonsectarian, chapter-based human rights
organization working for justice and peace in Ireland. We
are a wholly American 501(c)(4) organization that advocates
the end of British colonial occupation and the peaceful
reunification of Ireland . We endeavor to achieve these
goals by working through the American democratic process.
Individually, our members represent every occupational and
educational stratum in the United States .