 |
Sinn Fein Urges Demilitarization in N.Ireland
A senior official of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Wednesday called on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to live up to commitments he made on demilitarization.
Martin McGuinness, who is also Northern Ireland's education minister, said the political deadlock could be broken but that there needed to be "serious and meaningful demilitarization."
"The reality is that all of the watchtowers and lookout posts and soldiers and helicopters in South Armagh did not stop the Omagh bomb," he said.
Within a few hours of his comments, the British army announced that demolition would begin on three patrol bases near the border with the Republic of Ireland.
Bulldozers will start clearing the sites at Mullan Bridge, Clonatty Bridge and Annaghmartin after Christmas.
McGuinness dismissed claims by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson that the price for making a mistake on border security could be another attack like the Omagh bombing which claimed 29 lives.
Sinn Fein has demanded that British military installations should be removed from the border area of south Armagh.
But police and army chiefs have resisted the pressure claiming the lookout posts are crucial to security in the area.
The education minister from Sinn Fein was speaking amid continuing efforts in Belfast, London and Dublin to find a way out of the political impasse.
Relations between the British government and Sinn Fein have been strained in recent months because of republican disappointment at policing reforms and the pace of demilitarization.
Northern Ireland's First Minister David Trimble has banned Sinn Fein ministers from attending official cross-border meetings to try to force the IRA to "substantially re-engage" with the body overseeing decommissioning.
Officials in London and Dublin have, however, been trying to build on the momentum created by last week's visit to Northern Ireland by United States President Bill Clinton.
McGuinness said Sinn Fein was playing its full part in those negotiations but said all sides, especially the British government, must agree to honor all their commitments.
"There are very serious negotiations taking place. We in Sinn Fein are involved in speaking with the two governments. I hope that all of that will lead to the breaking of the deadlock," he said.
In This Section
|