Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
07 – 14 May 2014

Peace process ‘must be defended from Cameron’s partisan approach’
On 11 May Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness called on the Irish government to defend the peace process as the British government takes an increasingly partisan approach to key issues in the North.
The Deputy First Minister said the two governments had abdicated their leadership role as guarantors of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and a number of other issues.
Martin McGuinness said: ‘For some time now Sinn Féin has been concerned that the British and Irish governments are not properly engaged in the management of the peace process. Despite the efforts of Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan, the toxic issues of parades and symbols remain unresolved and there is no agreed approach to dealing with our troubled past. The two governments have abdicated their leadership role on these and a number of other issues.’
He added ‘We have also expressed our deep concern at the increasingly partisan and pro-unionist approach of the British Prime Minister and his Secretary of State. The failure to address issues like the Pat Finucane enquiry, the Bill of Rights and an Irish language act are indications of a less than even-handed approach.’
He said that recent comments by the British secretary ‘of state warning of an undue focus on killings by British state forces, her rejection of a review of the killings of 11 civilians by the British Army in Ballymurphy in 1971 and her lack of enthusiasm for the Haass proposals point to a British government increasingly aligning itself with rejectionist unionism’.
He said that despite recent requests David Cameron had not met the Sinn Féin leadership ‘to discuss our concerns around the failure to implement key commitments’, adding ‘the admission by David Cameron that he has been meeting privately with the DUP calls into question the British government’s joint stewardship of the peace process’.
He went on to say that the British Conservative party had ‘not grasped the fundamental principles of the peace process’ and seemed ‘unable to think beyond their traditional disposition to unionism’. David Cameron was ‘clearly wooing the DUP and extreme unionism. There is a growing Conservative/Unionist symmetry, not just on issues relating to the peace process but also on the savage welfare cuts which the DUP and the Tories are trying to impose on the most vulnerable in the north of Ireland’.
He concluded: ‘the increasingly pro-unionist and partisan position of the British government demands a more assertive and decisive response from the Irish government. It demands a strategic, political and diplomatic defence of the peace process and of the right of all our people to equality and justice.’

Sinn Fein to give post-election Westminster Briefing
On Tuesday 17 June senior Sinn Fein representatives will speak at a Westminster briefing, following the European and local government elections. The meeting will discuss the political situation following the elections, and in the light of recent developments in Ireland and around the peace process. The meeting will e at 7pm, the Grimmond Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, SW1A OAA (Portcullis Public entrance on the Embankment). All welcome.

Sinn Fein Chair warns of ‘reckless agenda’ of ‘playing poker with the peace process’
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph on 8 May, Sinn Fein Chairperson Declan Kearney said that PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott’s denial that a ‘dark side’ in the PSNI was involved in Gerry Adams’ detention was ‘wrong’.
Mr Kearney said that Gerry Adams’ arrest was ‘based on differential policing’ which ‘sends out a stark message to republican and nationalist victims and survivors, following the explicitly one-sided interventions by Theresa Villiers, culminating in her contemptuous dismissal of the Ballymurphy massacre families’.
He said the arrest was ‘political; a reaction to island-wide growth in support for Sinn Féin’.
Pointing to new polls which ‘suggest Sinn Féin may get its biggest ever vote, and become the largest Irish party in the European Parliament’ he said ‘such electoral advances frighten the establishments north and south’, adding ‘history shows when inertia grips the peace process negative forces become dominant.’
He further writes: ‘ongoing carnival of reaction from unionist extremists proves that. Disengagement by both governments has created the existing political impasse. DUP and UUP refusal to endorse the Haass compromises have deepened that impasse. The Boston College tapes contrivance gave that old guard RUC rump a pretext to move against Gerry Adams. He was agreeable to co-operate with the PSNI. But senior figures chose the charade which occurred instead. What happened was done with British cabinet approval. Theresa Villiers knew over two days beforehand. Others will also have known. They will have calculated sizeable political fallout.’
He said that ‘Negative interventions by this British Government have been causing real damage to the peace and political processes. It has demonstrated manifest bad faith and allowed the agenda to be set by unionist extremists and now most recently by its own ‘dark side’. This suggests a withdrawal of political commitment for our conflict resolution process.’
He concluded in his piece: ‘Key players within the Conservative government and state agencies are playing poker with the peace process. That is a reckless agenda. Those complicit in the last week’s events, should understand that the Sinn Féin membership will select and elect our Party leadership. For now, Sinn Féin has elections to contest; and, a strategy of change to implement. We will not be deterred.’

Sinn Fein launch election campaign: Putting Ireland First
On 12 May Sinn Fein launched its bilinual election manifesto for the 2014 EU election in Dublin and in Belfast. It can be read in full here.
Sinn Féin is standing four EU candidates: Lynn Boylan, Dublin; Liadh Ní Riada, South Constituency; Martina Anderson, North constituency; and Matt Carthy Midland-North-West.
Speaking at the events, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said Sinn Fein was standing ‘a strong team of candidates in the European elections’. He said that ‘our team Ireland means that voters in every party of this island will have an opportunity to vote for a Sinn Féin candidate’. The Sinn Féin team includes three women and one man, ‘all of whom are hugely experienced political activists, with a wealth of political experience’ Mr Adams said, adding ‘our message in the EU and local government elections is one of hope and change’.
Sinn Féin is ‘pro-European. We want a different kind of Europe – we want a social Europe that defends the rights of citizens and stands up against the vested interests of big business and the political elites’ and, Mr Adams said ‘we want an economy that serves citizens not the elites’.
He said the election provided the electorate ‘across all 32 counties with the opportunity to change the political landscape by electing a Sinn Féin team of MEPs who will oppose austerity policies; promote Ireland’s interests in Europe and not Europe’s interests in Ireland’.
This would be ‘a team of Sinn Féin MEPs who will promote and defend the peace process’ and that Sinn Féin MEPs `will all also seek greater investment in job creation, frontline services, agriculture and rural Ireland, and our young people’ he said.
He concluded: ‘Sinn Fein believes the political landscape in changing and on May 22nd in the north and on May 23rd in the south voters have an opportunity to make a real difference by voting for Sinn Féin’ and urged people to ‘vote for change’ and Vote Sinn Fein. He said ‘voters can be certain that when they vote for Sinn Féin candidates they are voting for a party that keeps its election promises; has a first class record of active representation; of getting things done, and of placing their interests first.’

Failure to investigate MRF ‘an insult to victims’ – Kelly
On 13 May, speaking after the PSNI told the Director of Public Prosecutions there would be no investigation into the activities of the Military Reaction Force, despite admissions by former members of the group in a Panorama documentary, the North Belfast MLA said: ‘Anyone who saw the interviews with ex-members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF) will be astounded the police have said there will be no investigation into these incidents. In the programme, ex-British soldiers admitted being involved in attacks against innocent Catholics and nationalists.’
He added, ‘Many of these attacks happened between May and September 1972 at the height of the conflict. Members of the MRF were involved in drive-by shootings, which at the time were blamed on loyalist gunmen. Not only have none of these ex-soldiers been arrested but the the PSNI has not attempted to identify them or even question them under caution. This is in the face of others being questioned under caution about issues going back 40 years.’
He said ‘This latest knockback to families whose loved ones were killed by British state forces comes in the aftermath of Theresa Villiers refusing a Hillsborough-type inquiry to the families of those killed in the Ballymurphy massacre. People will be left with the clear view that British state forces remain above the law. This is a further insult to victims and families of those targeted by this undercover military unit.’

Families of Dublin/Monaghan bombing victims launch civil action against British Government
On 14 May the families of those injured and bereaved in the bombing of Dublin and Monaghan launched a civil action against the British Government to secure disclosure of all relevant papers.
Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD said: ‘This week marks the 40th Anniversary of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings that claimed the lives of 34 of our fellow citizens and injured many more. The suffering of these families has been compounded by 40 years of cover up and lack of support. These families have campaigned for truth and full disclosure from the British Government and the Gardai as to the involvement of British Government agents in the commissioning, executing and covering up of this attack.
She added ‘Two motions have been passed in the Dáil supporting the rights of the families to truth, calling on the British Government to make available all the relevant files and information. At every turn the British Government has refused to hand over files for the families. It is a poor day when families have to go down this route, because of the failure of the Irish Government to uphold the rights of citizens and hold the British Government to account’.
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín O’Caoláin TD, added: ‘The British Government has acknowledged the reality of collusion in a number of cases including that of Pat Finucane. A number of inquiries have clearly demonstrated the involvement of British agents in the killing of 34 on the streets of Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. Over the past 40 years successive British and Irish Governments have failed the families and the British government have colluded to in the covering up of this attack.’
He concluded ‘Over Christmas Richard Haass released proposals that would unlock the past, the British government has refused to endorse and support these proposals. There is a responsibility to address the past in a holistic way and that must include the British government who were a party to the conflict.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
02 – 07 May 2014

Gerry Adams: `We must focus on the future’
On 4 May, following his release from Antrim PSNI station, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD spoke at a Press Conference in West Belfast. We reproduce his remarks, written in Antrim PSNI station, in full:

`I came voluntarily from the Dáil in Dublin to Antrim PSNI barracks last Wednesday having contacted the PSNI two months ago through my solicitor Seamus Collins, to tell them that I was available to meet them following yet another spate of media speculation, part of a sustained malicious, untruthful and sinister campaign alleging involvement by me in the killing of Mrs Jean McConville.
`When the PSNI contacted my solicitor on Monday afternoon I was concerned about the timing, given that Sinn Féin is involved in very important EU and local government elections across the island of Ireland. But I quickly made arrangements to come here and I left Leinster House – the Oireachtas – and Leaders Questions with the Taoiseach to do so.
Mr Adams thanked his solicitor Seamus Collins `for his diligence and professional approach’ and his colleague Eugene McKenna. He also thanked `everyone who has sent goodwill messages to Colette and our family and to my comrades in Sinn Féin for their solidarity’.
He went on: `I am conscious that there is another family at the heart of this. That is the family of Mrs Jean McConville. Let me be very clear. I am innocent of any involvement in any conspiracy to abduct, kill and bury Mrs McConville. I have worked hard with others to have this injustice redressed and for the return of the bodies of others killed and secretly buried by the IRA and I will continue to do so. The Commission set up by the two governments at the request of myself, and the late Fr Alex Reid, has said that it is receiving 100% support from republicans. Martin McGuinness and I were actually to meet the Commission around this time as part of this work.
`I am mindful also that tomorrow is the anniversary of the death on hunger strike of H Block martyr Bobby Sands MP. Sitting in my cell here in recent days I reflected on that and on the dreadful summer of 1981. Of course this is not 1981 or 1972.
`The people of this island – with a few exceptions, have carved out a new dispensation. So while the past needs to be dealt with – and Sinn Féin is up for doing this – including the issue of victims and their families, there can be no going back. Peace needs to be built with determination and a consistent focus. That remains my intention and is Sinn Féin’s constant endeavour.
`I bear no animosity to anyone. I have no wish to be treated differently from anyone else. I am an activist – this is my live and I am philosophical and I understand that I have detractors and opponents. I especially understand that there are sinister elements, who are against the changes Sinn Féin and others are committed to achieving.
`I did not come here expecting special treatment but it is crucial that everyone is treated fairly. I seek fair treatment not only for myself but because it is crucially important that everyone knows that these are changed times, that they can and will be treated fairly and that we can all have hope and confidence in the new developing dispensation, including the police service. To send any other signal is to encourage the bigots.
`So I make the case that those who authorised my arrest and detention could have done it differently. They had discretion. They did not have to use pernicious coercive legislation to deal with a legacy issue – even one as serious as this, which I was voluntarily prepared to deal with. They did not have to do this in the middle of an election campaign. Remember I contacted them two months ago.
`Despite this I want to make it clear that I support the PSNI. I will continue to work with others to build a genuinely civic policing service. The old guard which is against change whether in the PSNI leadership, within unionism or the far fringes of republicanism, or the Dark Side of the British system cannot be allowed to deny any of the people – Protestant, Catholic or Dissenter – from our entitlement to a rights-based, citizen-centred society as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.
`I am an Irish republican. I want to live in a peaceful Ireland based on equality. I have never disassociated myself from the IRA and I never will but I am glad that I, and others, have created a peaceful and democratic way forward for everyone. The IRA is gone.
`During my interrogations much was made by my interrogators about my time in the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s, my arrest and detention in Palace Barracks, in Long Kesh and in the peace talks in 1972. Newspaper articles, photographs of Martin McGuinness and I at Republican funerals, books and other open source material were used as the basis of the accusations made against me.
`Much of the interrogations concerned the so-called Belfast Project conceived by Paul Bew, University lecturer and a former advisor to former Unionist leader David Trimble, and run by Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre as part of Boston College. Both Moloney and McIntyre are opponents of the Sinn Féin leadership and our peace strategy and have interviewed former republicans who are also hostile to me and other Sinn Féin leaders. These former republicans have accused us of betrayal and sell-out and have said we should be shot because of our support for the Good Friday Agreement and policing.
`The allegation of conspiracy in the killing of Mrs McConville is based almost exclusively on hearsay from unnamed alleged Boston College interviewees but mainly from Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes. Other anonymous alleged Belfast Project interviewees were identified only by a letter of the alphabet, eg interview R or Y. One of these is claimed by the PSNI to be Ivor Bell although the interrogators told me he has denied the allegations. I rejected all the allegations made about me in the Boston Tapes.
`Finally, let me be clear. There is only one way for our society to go and that is forward. Yes deal with the past. Yes deal with victims but the focus needs to be on the future. That is the road we are on. There will be bumps in that road. There will be diversions. Obstacles will be erected. We know that.
`I thank everyone for their support. I extend sympathy to the McConville family and all those who have suffered especially at the hands of republicans. My resolve remains as strong as ever. It is to build the peace and see off the sinister forces, who are against equality and justice for everyone.’

Thousands rally to support Gerry Adams
On 3 May a mass rally took place on the Falls Road, as a mural was unveiled. Those present heard speeches, including from Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, expressing solidarity with the Sinn Fein President. A video of the rally can be seen here.
Around the world, across Europe, the US and in Britain, messages of support also flooded in, including a letter in the Guardian published on 5 May, expressing concerns around the arrest, which was signed by MPs Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Ken Livingstone, film Director Ken Loach, writer Roy Greenslade, actor Adrian Dunbar and a host of others.

Sinn Fein launch election campaigns across Ireland
`The political landscape is changing’ – Gerry Adams
On 4 May and 6 May Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams TD addressed packed election rallies for Sinn Fein’s election campaign across Ireland, in Belfast and Dublin respectively.
In Dublin, the Sinn Féin Leader said that the political landscape in the south of Ireland was changing, and that Sinn Fein’s message was `resonating with greater numbers of people’. He said after 23rd May politics `would be changed even further’.
Gerry Adams also commented that Martin McGuinness’ comments about the danger to the process coming from a ‘dark side’ within the PSNI, the Taoiseach’s response was to suggest he should make a complaint to the Ombudsman. Mr Adams said that this was `about the future of the political process and the Taoiseach suggests a complaint to the Police Omudsman! What about his responsibility?’
He said the Taoiseach `cannot pass the buck on this issue, nor trot out trite responses that have more to do with electoral concerns’. He said the Irish people north and south endorsed the Good Friday Agreement: `It is the people’s agreement’.
Mr Adams added: `Enda Kenny and David Cameron and their governments are the joint guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement. That means standing up to those who threaten it. That means overcoming obstacles to progress. That means providing positive leadership. This is especially true in trying to deal with the difficult issues of legacy, the past, of parades and of flags and emblems’.
Sinn Féin had signed up for the compromise proposals presented by Richard Haass and Meghan O Sullivan, but `the two Unionists parties have not and neither has the British Government’, said Mr Adams, adding `that should be a starting point for the Taoiseach now. The Good Friday Agreement is rooted in equality and that must be the foundation for dealing with legacy issues’.
He said that two weeks ago British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers criticised what she described as the one sided focus on state killings, and `last week she refused a review into the Ballymurphy Massacre by the British Paras of 11 civilians’.
He said there was `a concerted effort by enemies of the peace and political processes to undermine and damage them. The Irish government has to act – not play party politics’.
He said that there was `no doubt’ that Sinn Féin was for `civic, accountable, public service policing’ and would `continue to focus on achieving’ it, but that it was `also clear is that it has not been achieved yet’.
He said the `economic crash destroyed the lives of thousands of our citizens. It disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands more. 400,000 people have been forced to emigrate from this state. People who worked all their lives are now barely coping. People who invested in pensions have seen their savings wiped out. Young people who studied hard for their chosen career have seen their hopes dashed. There are others who never saw a Celtic Tiger, whose lives remained one of daily struggle throughout that period and who are even worse of now.
He added `Despite all of this upheaval and the change in people’s lives, politics in this state has not changed. For Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil it is business as usual. That is not acceptable. Change is needed and change is possible. That is what Sinn Fein is about – bringing political change. One party rule in the North is gone and the two-and-a-half party system that has failed the citizens of this state is going also. But politics in this state are changing. Sinn Féin is now a major player in both states on this island with policies, objectives, and an expanding organization which transcends partition.
He concluded: `Sinn Fein is the only real and credible opposition in Leinster House. We have clear and positive alternatives to the policies of austerity embraced by the cosy consensus of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail. And our message is getting through. It is resonating with greater and greater numbers of citizens throughout this state. That is why I am confident that after 23rd May we will see that the political landscape here has changed even further.’

`1981’ play comes to London
On Sunday 11 May Tony Devlin’s acclaimed play `1989’ depicting the events of the 1981 Hunger Strike, will be performed in London, at the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood, for the first time this Sunday 11 May. The play will be followed by a question and answer session with Tony Devlin and Brendan `Bik’ McFarlane, who was the leader of republican prisoner in the jail during the Hunger Strikes. The discussion will be followed by music from Bik McFarlane afterwards. Some tickets are still available from here but selling fast, so book now to avoid disappointment.

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
18 April – 02 May 2014

Martin McGuinness comments on `politically motivated’ arrest of Gerry Adams

On 1 May Sinn Féin MLA and Joint First Minister Martin McGuinness described the arrest of party leader Gerry Adams as `politically motivated’.
Mr McGuinness said he was `very proud that Gerry Adams is my colleague, my friend and my party leader’. He described Mr Adams as `the single most important person in bringing about the transformation, which has taken us to where we are today’.
He said he viewed Gerry Adams’ arrest as `a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the elections due to take place all over this island in three weeks’ which `raises very serious questions about the agenda of those responsible’.
He added that there were `people on the dark side of policing and this is an attempt to flex their muscles’ who were `responsible for this latest situation.’
Later, speaking at a Press Conference on 2 May, Martin McGuinness reiterated his view that the timing of the arrest of Gerry Adams was `politically motivated’. He said that the decision by the PSNI that day, to seek an extension to his detention, `absolutely confirms that view’. He said the arrest of Gerry Adams `at this time is inextricably linked to the local govt and European elections’.
The previous day, Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald also criticised `political policing’. She said: `Last month Gerry Adams said that he was available to meet the PSNI about the Jean McConville case. That meeting is now taking place’.
She added `Gerry Adams is right to confront this issue. There has been a concerted and malicious effort to link Gerry Adams to this case for some considerable time. He has consistently and forthrightly rejected any suggestion that he had any part in what happened to Jean McConville 42 years ago or that he has any information about these dreadful events’.
Ms McDonald concluded: `I believe the timing of this latest decision by the PSNI is politically motivated and designed to damage Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin. It is Sinn Féin’s view that legacy issues and dealing with the past, including past conflict events, are best addressed through an independent, international, truth recovery process.’
She concluded: `In the absence of that, we have agreed to and are seeking the implementation of the Haass compromise proposals. These include the right of families to choose whether to pursue legal action or to seek maximum truth recovery.’
Earlier, on 30 April Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams TD had made a statement in relation to the case of Jean McConville.
Gerry Adams said `Last month I said that I was available to meet the PSNI about the Jean McConville case. While I have concerns about the timing, I am voluntarily meeting with the PSNI this evening.’
He went on to say: `As a republican leader I have never shirked my responsibility to build the peace. This includes dealing with the difficult issue of victims and their families. Insofar as it is possible I have worked to bring closure to victims and their families who have contacted me. Even though they may not agree, this includes the family of Jean McConville.’
Mr Adams said: `I believe that the killing of Jean McConville and the secret burial of her body was wrong and a grievous injustice to her and her family.’
He added: `Well publicised, malicious allegations have been made against me. I reject these. While I have never disassociated myself from the IRA and I never will, I am innocent of any part in the abduction, killing or burial of Mrs McConville.’
He concluded: `Sinn Féin has signed up to the Haass proposals for dealing with the past. While I also respect the right of families if they wish to seek legal redress there remains a huge onus on the two governments and the political parties to face up to all these issues and to agree a victim centred process which does this.’

Cameron told: ‘no consistency on state killings’
Later on the evening of 1 May Martin McGuinness spoke by phone to British Prime Minister David Cameron, and told Mr Cameron there was `no consistency on the part of the British state on the issue of state killings’.
The Joint First Minister said that the PSNI was `duty bound to fully and energetically pursue all and every investigation and I support and encourage them to do so’. He went on to say `but I know that some investigations are pursued more vigorously than others’.
He added `the families of the 11 innocent victims murdered in cold blood by the Parachute Regiment in Ballymurphy, the victims of Bloody Sunday and those killed in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings which the British government are still withholding information on to this day are testament to this reality’.
Only this week, Mr McGuinness said `the British government told the Ballymurphy families there would be no review of those murders’, adding `no reinvestigation, no arrests, no compassion for their loss or grief and certainly no political consistency from the British state’.
He said that British forces were `protected and immune. That’s why the British government has not signed up to the Haass proposals.’

Sinn Féin election message is one of `hope and change’
On 27 April Sinn Féin president, as party of the party’s election campaigning, party President Gerry Adams TD urged the people of Dublin to support the party’s EU candidate Lynn Boylan, stating that Sinn Féin was committed to offering `new hope and real change based on genuine republican politics’ which would deliver for the people of Ireland in Europe.
Speaking at the launch of Lynn Boylan’s campaign Deputy Adams said Sinn Féin’s message was `one of hope’. He said `We are saying things do not have to be the way they are. There is a better way’.
He said Ireland was `a great country’ with `great people’ which did not have to be `resigned to huge levels of unemployment, emigration and austerity’.
He added `Together we can re-build this country, north and south. This requires a political step change. The EU and Local elections offer the prospect beginning that change. For too long, citizens in this state have endured a two-and-a-half party political system that has served them very badly.’
Sinn Féin were `clearly offering people new hope and the prospect of real change, based on genuine republican politics’, which was `about putting Ireland and Irish interests first in our dealings with the EU. It is about putting the interests of citizens at the heart of political decision making at all levels.’
He said it was `very clear that citizens are responding in every greater numbers to Sinn Féin’s message of hope and change. For the first time ever, every voter, in every county council on this island will have the opportunity to vote for Sinn Féin. Every Sinn Féin Councillor will be a committed voice for their community, putting the people’s interests at the heart of local government.’
He said Sinn Féin MEPs `will not be ‘yes men’ or ‘yes women’ in the EU. We have had enough of that. They will be Irish representatives in the EU, not EU representatives in Ireland’.
He urged people to `come out and help make 2014 the year change’ by voting Sinn Fein.

DUP `not elected to be messenger boys for Cameron’s millionaire cabinet’
On 20 April Sinn Féin MEP and candidate Martina Anderson was the keynote speaker at an Easter commemoration in Belfast, where she condemned British Tory policy threatening to `destroy the economy in the North through savage cuts to public funding and welfare’.
She said that `had not been for Sinn Féin, [DUP Minister] Nelson McCausland was quite prepared to implement the dictates of Cameron’s millionaire cabinet in Westminster – years ago without any change’.
She said Sinn Féin were `opposed to the agenda, which seeks to make the most vulnerable and ordinary working families pay for the greed and excesses of the bankers’ and had voted against the Tory proposals `at every stage in the Assembly’.
Criticising the DUP on the Executive, she said they `need to start behaving like ministers for the people’. She added `in recent weeks – Sammy Wilson, Simon Hamilton and Nelson McCausland have become messenger boys for the Tories in London – and now Peter Robinson has joined in as well.’
She concluded: `Sinn Féin is politically and ideologically opposed to the politics of austerity north, south and in Europe.’
Read the full text of the speech here.

Twin evils of Racism and Sectarianism need to be eradicated
On 2 May Sinn Féin MLA and Junior Minister Jennifer McCann said more needed to be done to `remove the scourges of racism and sectarianism from society’.
Speaking at the Belonging Exhibition, which tells individual stories of migrants who have came to Ireland, she said, `Unfortunately there are still people who would physically assault and intimidate someone simply because they are of a different race or religious background’.
She added `These attacks not only have a personal emotional effect on their victims, they have a negative impact on society as a whole. There is a clear need for Political and Civic leaders to condemn racial and sectarian attacks no matter who or where they come from, and there is no room for complacency.’

Sinn Féin calls for robust workers’ rights legislation
On 1 May – International Workers’ Rights Day — Sinn Féin’s Workers Rights spokesperson David Cullinane called for an end to zero hour contracts, and for the introduction of strong and robust anti-victimisation legislation and collective bargaining.
Speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s Workers’ Rights policy document Senator Cullinane said `One hundred years after the 1913 Lockout Ireland has the dubious distinction of being only one of three countries in the EU27 where the right to collective bargaining is not enshrined in law.’
He said `We must ensure that collective bargaining right are introduced without delay and that they are in keeping with International Labour Organisation conventions. Legislation must copper fasten the right to union recognition and treat collective bargaining as a basic human right.’
He added `Watered down legislation will not protect workers in the current economic climate. We need robust legislation that makes it compulsory for employers to recognise trade unions and that prohibits victimization of vulnerable workers. According to Eurostat over one fifth of the Irish workforce is low-paid. We also have a widening of the gap in terms of income distribution and an increase in the numbers of adults and children living in relative deprivation.’
He concluded: `Sinn Féin is committed to working with an independent and progressive labour movement to bring about change. Working together our task is to create a true republic that can deliver equality and justice for all our people and strong and robust workers right are a fundamental cornerstone of this project.’
* Sinn Fein’s Workers rights document can be found at www.sinnfein.ie

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
03-10 April 2014

State visit – need for governments to focus on future says Adams
On 8 April Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams TD said the occasion of President Higgins’ State visit to Britain visit ‘should focus minds on the need for political leaders to resolve all of the outstanding issues in the Peace Process’.
Mr Adams said that ‘the real and lasting significance of President Higgins’ visit will only be realized if the peace and political processes are `built upon by both governments’.
Gerry Adams said that the ‘momentous event’ had only been made possible ‘because of the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement’. He said it was ‘part of a journey; and that much more needs to be done on the ground in the North and between both parts of the island, particularly on the issue of rights’. He said there were ‘great possibilities’ which needed `a focus and a commitment by us all’. He said ‘all identities on this island – Irish and British – must be respected on the basis of equality’.
The participation of Martin McGuinness in the State visit, was, he added ‘a sign of a positive commitment by Irish republicans to engagement with our unionist neighbours and to a new relationship with Britain based on equality and mutual respect’.
He said the Peace Process ‘and the political transformation that has begun on this island remain work in progress’, adding ‘this State visit should be an incentive to build the peace and to continue the journey of transformation.’
Earlier on 5 April Gerry Adams had confirmed that deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness ‘will accept an invitation to attend all events as part of the State visit’.
He described the decision by a ‘confident republican leadership’ as ‘in keeping with the transition that is ongoing within the island of Ireland and between Ireland, including the North, and Britain’.
He said there was now ‘a peaceful and democratic way to end the Union and Partition’ and that Sinn Féin ‘accepts that there is an onus on us to persuade our unionist neighbours that their interests are best served in a new, agreed Ireland’.
He said that while Martin McGuinness’s involvement in President Higgins’s State visit ‘may not be welcome by opponents of change, it is yet another example of Sinn Féin’s commitment to an inclusive future based on tolerance and equality’. He said the decision ‘may cause difficulty for some Irish republicans in light of ongoing difficulties in the north but, I would appeal to them to view this positively in the context of republican and democratic objectives and the interests of unity and peace on this island’.
He concluded: ‘The real significance and value of President Higgins’s visit will only be realised if peace and the political processes are built upon by both Governments. That means implementing all outstanding elements of the Good Friday and other Agreements.’
Sinn Fein MPs Pat Doherty, Michelle Gildernew and Paul Maskey were also present in Westminster to hear President Higgins’ address to MPs, Lords, staff and other gathered guests. Pat Doherty said he welcomed the opportunity to accept the, as part of the week’s events ‘in building positive relations between the two islands on the basis of equality’.
Sinn Fein MPs Conor Murphy and Francie Molloy were also set to attend a Windsor Castle reception and a celebration event at the Royal Albert Hall on the Thursday, also as part of the official events for the visit.

Tebbitt remarks show why dealing with past must be a political priority – Gerry Adams TD
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD has criticised remarks by the former Chairman of the British Conservative Party, Norman Tebbitt, in which he said he hoped a dissident republican group would shoot the North’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
Mr Adams said ‘I fully understand that Norman Tebbitt has himself been a victim of the political conflict and I regret that he has suffered grievously. However, to publicly advocate the assassination of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is a shocking throwback to a violent past from which we are seeking to move on. The State visit is another important milestone in doing that.’
He said the remarks by Mr Tebbitt were ‘another clear example of why the issue of the past needs to be dealt with as a political priority’. He added ‘Martin McGuinness is a leader of political and personal courage who has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the Peace Process and the cause of reconciliation between unionist and nationalist and between Britain and Ireland, at considerable risk to himself.’
He said ‘Martin, his home and indeed his family have been targets for abuse and attack by so-called “dissident republicans”. To now have this type of activity encouraged by a member of the British House of Lords is unacceptable, and should be rejected by all right thinking people.’
He concluded: ‘Political leaders on both sides of the Irish Sea should reject the sentiments expressed by Mr Tebbitt.’

‘1981’ play comes to London
On Sunday 11 May, Tony Devlin’s acclaimed play ‘1981’ telling the story of the Hunger Strike of that year will be performed by the Brassneck theatre Company, for one evening only in London. Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, who was the leader of the political prisoners in the jail during the Hunger Strike will also appear as special guest during the evening, and will perform music.
Speaking about the play, Tony Devlin has said: ‘The 1981 Irish hungerstrike, in which ten men gave their lives in the struggle for political status, irreversibly shaped political developments for decades to come. In this unique piece of theatre, we are given a deep insight into the lives of each of the ten men as to who they really were.
Through music, song, visuals and performance, this one-person show takes us on an extraordinary journey of how ten very ordinary men, shook the world from their prison cells. An ultimately uplifting piece of theatre through tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, 1981 is the story behind the legacy of the Irish hungerstrike. The equality that we all enjoy today… the laughter of our children.’
Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew, who is the current Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone, the seat which was won by Bobby Sands said, ‘I am delighted that Tony Devlin’s incredible play is being brought to London. It will be a great opportunity for people to get to see it, and to learn about the hugely significant events of the Hunger strike, which still has an impact today – this is an important part of our history and I urge people to take the chance to get along to see the play’.
The play will be performed at the Crown Moran Hotel, in Cricklewood an Tickets are available here.

Easter Lily ‘remembers the past, with the promise of a bright future’
On 8 April Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD launched the ‘Wear an Easter Lily’ campaign. The Sinn Féin leader urged citizens to wear an Easter Lilly in remembrance of all of those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom. Easter Lilies will be available online from the Sinn Féin bookshop.
Gerry Adams said that Easter would see ‘tens of thousands of people in towns, villages and cities, at country crossroads and at lonely hillside graveyards across the country’ attend commemorations to mark the anniversary of the Easter Rising.
They would gather, he said ‘to remember those republican revolutionaries who, in 1916 took on the might of the British empire and asserted in arms Ireland’s right to independence’ and to `honour those who died in the cause of Irish freedom in every decade before and since 1916’.
Encouraging as many people as possible ‘to join in those commemorations, to celebrate 1916 and promote the ideal of Irish unity and independence’, Mr Adams said that the ‘symbol of our enduring commitment to these ideals and of our respect for all those, from every generation, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Irish freedom, is the Easter Lily’.
The colours of green, white and orange meant the Lily was `a symbol long associated with the Easter Rising of 1916 and one with a long and fascinating history’.
He concluded: ‘We wear an Easter Lily with pride, mindful not only of the past but of the promise of a brighter future.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
27 March – 02 April 2014

Haass can be delivered before elections – Adams
Speaking on 31 March Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said that British government failure to support the Haass proposals and its decision to unilaterally breach its Weston Park commitments on the issue of On the Runs has `damaged public confidence and undermined the political structures of the GFA’.
In a speech at a constituency meeting he rejected suggestions that there could be no movement on the Haass proposals until after the May elections.
Gerry Adams said: `Political unionism has either rejected the Haass proposals or prevaricated. The negative approach of the British government has facilitated this. The British have broken their commitments and this is having the effect of emboldening intransigent unionism.
`In the short term people from working-class communities, mostly young people are paying the price for the stupidity of the flags protests and the violence which accompanied those protests. It is they who are receiving prison sentences not the leaders who encouraged them or those who failed to actively discourage such negative, sectarian and illegal behavior.
`It is said that there can be no change in this situation until after the May local government and European elections. I do not accept this. I believe that an agreement on the Haass proposals in advance of the elections would send out a powerful and positive message of hope. That will be Sinn Féin’s objective in the week ahead.
`However, to achieve this will require the British government taking up a clear position in support of the Haass proposals. The Irish government has already agreed that Haass represents the best way forward and the US administration has endorsed this in recent weeks.
`The political process faces its greatest challenges in recent years. Citizens do not want the process slipping back. This requires genuine power sharing and partnership. It also requires the focus of the two governments but especially the British government and a change in direction by the unionist leadership.
`UUP leader Mike Nesbitt’s posturing with the NO men on the extremes of unionism is short sighted and without any merit whatsoever. Middle unionism must feel badly let down by the clear effort on the part of political unionism to roll back on the progress that has been made since the Good Friday Agreement was achieved 16 years ago.
`None of the difficulties the political process faces are insurmountable. With political will it is possible to resolve all of the outstanding and toxic issues.’

British Irish Parliamentary Assembly identifies key failures in implementation of Good Friday Agreement
On 1 April, after a meeting of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) , Sinn Fein TD Sean Crowe commented on a report by the Assembly which highlighted the continued failure to implement key elements of the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements. The report also called on the governments to monitor and make public the implementation reports on these international agreements that were endorsed by the people of Ireland.
Speaking after the meeting Sean Crowe said that the report `recognises that the agreements, which are over 15 years old have yet to be fully implemented and the potential of these agreements to deliver long lasting change has not been fully realised’.
He said: `Many of the recent manufactured crises and reaction of unionism was dealt with on Good Friday and endorsed by the vast majority of people north and south. This includes the issue of parity of esteem for identities and cultures.
`It is time that the two governments lived up to their responsibilities and promoted and achieved the full implementation of what the people agreed.
`The Good Friday and subsequent agreements laid out a way to deal with political difference and constitutional change. The agreements placed equality and power sharing at the centre of the political institutions and the political process.
`Sinn Féin believes that an agreement made must be an agreement implemented if the political process is not to be undermined. Sinn Féin has lived up to all of our responsibilities and commitments and continue to work for the full implementation of the agreements.
`There is a clear responsibility on the two governments and all parties to deal with the outstanding issues such as the Bill of Rights, Irish Language Act, Civic Forum and all Ireland consultative forum.
`No party or section of the community has a veto on the democratic will of the people. The governments need to make it clear as to how they intend to see the full implementation of the agreements’.

Pat Doherty MP leads Sinn Féin delegation to meet PSNI
Pat Doherty MP will lead a Sinn Féin delegation to meet with a senior PSNI team this Friday.
The meeting has been requested by Sinn Féin following growing concerns about the level of complaints about the PSNI in Omagh District, particularly from young people.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Pat Doherty MP said: `There has been a number of high profile cases recently where the judge has dismissed evidence given by police.
He added `Public confidence in policing in Omagh is at an all-time low. This is the fourth time in 12 months that police have been in the dock. More and more young people are being brought before the courts on charges that could affect their futures.
He said `My party colleagues have raised this at PCSP level and our Policing Board members have been alerted to these other issues. We want a police service, not a police force and we won’t be shy in confronting and exposing examples of bad policing. It is well below the service the public expects. We’re not just content with criticising policing when they get it wrong but challenging and changing it for the better. ‘
He concluded `Sinn Féin has sought the meeting with senior PSNI officers to raise our concerns and to demand they take action.’

Putting Ireland First – largest ever gathering of Sinn Fein candidates
The largest gathering of Sinn Féin candidates in the history of the party took place in Drogheda last Saturday, with some 350 local council election candidates contesting seats across all 42 councils in the 32 counties of Ireland and Sinn Féin’s 4 EU election candidates meeting for a final strategic planning day with the party leadership. The meeting took place to prepare the campaign for the local council and EU elections on 22 May in the 6 Counties and the 23rd May in the 26 Counties.
Watch a report of the meeting here.

All parties should stand together against British government cuts.
On 1 April Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey said that DUP Finance Minister Simon Hamilton should `stand up to the British government and oppose welfare cuts’.
The South Belfast MLA said that the minister was `scaremongering’ on the potential losses to the local economy if Tory cuts are not implemented.
Alex Maskey said `The DUP is accepting everything the British government throws at them. They refuse to challenge them on the real impact cuts will have on the people of the North. The British government has already accepted that the situation is different here than it is in Britain and the DUP has admitted that there are aspects of the cuts that they do not like.
He added: `Why then are they accepting what is presented to them without question. This is too serious an issue for people to be just bandying about figures in an effort to scare the public into accepting cuts without a fight. Sinn Féin is opposing cuts throughout Ireland because it is the right thing to do. The DUP need to be mature about this, face up to the consequences of the cuts on the people we represent and challenge the British government on their cuts agenda. These cuts in income for the poorest and most vulnerable in society North and South have come on the back of an economic collapse created by the greed of bankers, financiers and fat cats.’
He concluded: `This is a time when all parties should stand together and tell the British government that we will not accept taking money from those least able to afford it and driving even more people into poverty.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
20-27 March 2014
Dedicated to Tony Benn 1925-2014

Tony Benn – A friend of Ireland
On 27 March Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD and party colleagues Martin McGuinness MLA and Michelle Gildernew MP attended the funeral of Tony Benn in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey.
Gerry Adams paid tribute to Tony Benn who he described as “a tireless and articulate campaigner for democracy, social justice and equality in Britain”. He said he was “an internationalist, as well as a stalwart friend and advocate for peace in Ireland and for Irish unity”.
He added “Tony strenuously opposed the policy of austerity and rejected both Tory and Labour cuts to the rights and entitlements of citizens, especially welfare cuts”.
He said his “earliest recollection of meeting Tony was in London in July 1983, a month after I had been elected for the first time as the MP for West Belfast. I have met him many times since then and occasionally he travelled to Ireland to speak at events”.
“In an interview Tony explained his attitude to British policy in Ireland succinctly. He said:
“The problem is not an ‘Irish problem’ in the United Kingdom, but a British problem in Ireland. Once you get that straight you can see it quite differently.
I’m not a nationalist but I support the right of people to control their own affairs and to that extent I am really strongly in favour of getting the British out of Northern Ireland.”
Mr Adams added “Three years ago Sinn Féin organised an event in the London Irish Centre to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hunger Strike. Tony was the final speaker. He spoke of how
necessary it is to see the Irish struggle for self-determination not simply as a small isolated fight, but as part of a huge and general struggle against colonialism worldwide. He spoke with conviction that Irish reunification would happen”.
He concluded “On behalf of Sinn Féin I want to extend my condolences to Tony’s many friends but especially his children; Stephen, Hilary, Melissa, Joshua.”
Earlier, Michelle Gildernew MP paid respects to
Tony Benn on behalf of Sinn Fein MPs, attending the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the House of Commons, on the evening of 26 March, where he reposed overnight.
Michelle Gildernew MP said she was “proud to be representing the Sinn Féin MPs” and added “Tony was a great friend of the Irish people, a
politician of immense standing and principle, as an activist and as an MP. He was a committed socialist and internationalist, and a strong campaigner for justice and freedom – especially in relation to Ireland.”
She described Tony Benn as “a champion for humanity all his life, in Britain, Ireland and throughout the world. He will be deeply missed”.

Sinn Fein MP – ‘OTRs claims disingenuous, with no basis in fact’
Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy commented on a British House of Commons debate on the issues around the High Court Judgement in relation to John Downey, initiated by the DUP, SDLP and other MPs.
Mr Murphy challenged assertions by the DUP, the SDLP and others that they were not aware of the scheme for dealing with the ‘On the Runs’ (OTR) issue as `disingenuous with no basis in fact’.
Mr Murphy said: “The grandstanding by the DUP and other unionist politicians, repeated today, have more to do with upcoming elections than in dealing with and resolving the serious legacy issues which we attempted to address during the Haass negotiations. Indeed, the deliberate misrepresentation about the facts of the OTR issue simply serve to divert attention away from the fact that unionist political leaders have blocked progress in terms of moving forward and implementing the Haass proposals.”
He added: “One of the legacy issues is the issue of OTRs. The British and Irish governments at Weston Park made a commitment to resolve this issue”.
He added, and I quote: “Both Governments recognise that there is an issue to be addressed, with the completion of the early release scheme, about supporters of organisations now on cease-fire against whom there are outstanding prosecutions, and in some cases extradition proceedings, for offences committed before 10 April 1998. Such people would, if convicted, stand to benefit from the early release scheme. The Governments accept that it would be a natural development of the scheme for such prosecutions not to be pursued and will as soon as possible, and in any event before the end of the year, take such steps as are necessary in their jurisdictions to resolve this difficulty so that those concerned are no longer pursued.”
Mr Murphy added, “Yet seasoned politicians from all other Parties in the North are pretending not to be aware of this. The scheme being used is not an amnesty and it is not some “get out of jail free card”. It was simply clarification of an individual’s status as to whether there were any outstanding warrants on them.”
He said “It seems that there are some who have been for years beating a law and order drum who now have difficulty accepting the word of the British Attorney General about the legality of this scheme. Dominic Grieve has said that the process to resolve some of the OTR cases, was a lawful process.”
He said it was “particularly disappointing that the SDLP should be to the fore in sponsoring this motion in Westminster which can only give comfort to anti-agreement unionists and so-called dissident republicans”.
He concluded: “Let everyone step up to the plate and start grappling with real issues affecting the lives of those we represent and stop manufacturing excuses for not progressing. The existence of On the Runs is one of the many consequences of our failed past. We have collectively agreed that we need to find an acceptable way to deal with this past if we are serious about this then, there is no alternative but to return to the Haass blueprint and build on its progress.”

* Conor Murphy will be in London to meet MPs next week on 2nd April in Westminster.

International Day for the Right to the Truth is a opportunity to return to the Haass
Sinn Féin MLA Jennifer McCann, speaking on 23 March, has said that International Day for the Right to the Truth is a opportunity to return to the Haass proposals.
Ms McCann said it was “important if we are to move away from the past and create a better future that we deal with legacy issues including the truth surrounding the recent conflict”.
She said Sinn Féin had proposed that there be “an international, independent truth recovery process as the best way forward”, adding “it’s our view there cannot be a process operated by any of the protagonists in the recent conflict”.
She said “Others have different ideas and that is fair enough. However, we need to take this opportunity to move the process forward in a way, which looks after the victims but also builds the future for the survivors”.
She said that while the recent Haass proposals were a compromise for Republicans “we also saw that it provided a platform, which would allow us to begin a truth recovery process”, and added “The sense of pain shared by all victims regardless of the circumstance of loss cannot be allowed to drift along onto future generations and we must act now”.
She said there was “need to support the physical, emotional and psychological needs of victims and survivors and this includes support in the quest for truth” and that the International Day for the Right to the Truth served as “a reminder that these issues have yet to be resolved and that they will not go away without being addressed”.
She urged all political parties and both the Irish and British Governments “to return to the Haass Proposals and begin their implementation immediately.”

PSNI – `retiring and rehiring scandal must never happen again’
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said that the PSNI must ensure that the `retiring and rehiring scandal must never happen again’.
The North Belfast MLA and member of the Policing Board was commenting after a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report said the system was not value for money.
Gerry Kelly said Sinn Féin had “pursued the question of a revolving-door policy from our previous mandate and the full facts around the extent of retiring and rehiring ex RUC personnel were kept hidden by the ‘old guard’ within the PSNI for years”.
He said that more than 1,000 people who had received substantial severance packages under Patten were rehired, “some of them were headhunted for posts that did not require policing experience”.
He added “This basically resulted in a revolving door scenario and kept other people out of jobs. There was no open competition for the posts. Those who were re-employed became unaccountable overnight as they were not accountable to the Police Ombudsman or the PSNI’s Code of Ethics, having been rehired in a civilian staff capacity. This undermined Patten and is a story of cronyism and jobs for the boys. Sinn Féin raised these questions from 2009 but some of those at the top of the PSNI resisted revealing the facts.”
He concluded: “This method of retiring/rehiring did substantial damage to confidence in policing and must not happen again.”

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland