Unionists to Have More Power in United Ireland: AdamsThe pro-British Unionists in Northern Ireland could wield more influence in a united Ireland than they do in the United Kingdom, said Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams on Wednesday.The leader of the Irish Republican Army's political wing of Sinn Fein claimed in a speech in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry that the creation of a new, united Ireland made sense for both communities and that republicans viewed the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as a vehicle for achieving it. "We believe that the assertion of sovereignty by the British government is contrary to the democratic wish of a majority of the Irish people," he argued. "Irish sovereignty is a fact in its own right and quite separate from the entitlements of unionists and those who categorize themselves as British," he added. Adams denied that the republicans wanted to strip anyone who considers themselves British of their cultural identity or deny them the right to express it. "The Good Friday Agreement is the foundation upon which new relationships between unionists and nationalists and republicans can be forged," he said. He also stressed the struggle for full independence and sovereignty throughout the island of Ireland had not ended. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |