Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
30 October – 06 November 2014‏

Need to intensify talks if progress is to be made – Murphy
On 5 November Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy said said there was `clearly a need to intensify talks’ if any progress is to be made on dealing with the outstanding issues of the Good Friday and other agreements.
Conor Murphy was speaking after the parties met the Irish and British governments for the first time during the current round of preliminary talks.
Conor Murphy said the meeting, the first time all the parties had been around the table with the two governments, had been `billed as a stock taking exercise, however there wasn’t a lot of stock to take’. He said the talks progress to date had not been `credible’, adding `if the DUP is serious they should be sharing papers with all the other parties, so far we have only received one paper from the DUP’.
Mr Murphy said there was a need to `deal with the issues of identity and the legacy of the past as well as outstanding commitments from the Good Friday and other agreements’. He said that `clearly there is the ongoing threat to the Executive’s budget posed by the year-on-year cuts by the Tories to the Block grant’.
He concluded: `There is a need to break the gridlock in the institutions and there is an onus on the British government to honour the outstanding commitments from the Good Friday and other agreements. There is clearly a need to intensify the talks if we are to make any progress and Sinn Féin will be doing a round of meetings with the other parties in an effort to move forward into a credible process.’

* Why we need to build a pro-Good Friday Agreement axis
PUBLIC MEETING: Sinn Fein MPs will host a London public meeting on 25 November in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, SW1A OAA, `Why we need a pro-Good Friday Agreement axis’. Speakers include Conor Murphy MP, former British Minister Lord Alf Dubs and former Assembly Speaker Lord Alderdice. Email fisherj@parliament.uk for details.

Cameron not engaged with political process – Maskey
On 6 November, Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has welcomed comments made by former British Secretary of State Peter Hain that the British Prime Minister David Cameron is not engaged with the political process in the north or Ireland.
The West Belfast MP was speaking after he and party colleague Pat Doherty MP were in London for a serious of meetings with MPs, the media and trade union leaders.
Paul Maskey pointed to Peter Hain’s interview in this week’s Irish Post, where he raised strong concerns over the British government’s lack of focus and the serious impact this could have on the peace process.
Mr Maskey said the remarks `followed similar concerns raised by former Labour Minister Lord Dubs, who urged progress on outstanding Good Friday Agreement issues’.
He welcomed the comments and said Peter Hain was `correct to focus attention on the current problems in the political process’, adding `for some time we have had a negative, anti-agreement unionist agenda, which represents a minority of opinion, dictating the pace of political progress’.
He said this had been `facilitated by a British government which has been partisan and disengaged for some time’ and pointed out: `alongside the Irish government, the British government are co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and have a responsibility to ensure progress’.
He added, `Unfortunately, the current British government has allowed a de facto veto on progress by unionist parties. The British government needs to move away from its partisan approach and encourage unionism to seriously engage in the current talks.’
He said that Sinn Fein’s current round of meetings in London had revealed `growing concerns that the current approach is untenable’. He also warned against the `dangers of playing “party politics” in the run-up to the Westminster election, adding: `There can be no horse-trading in relation to the peace process or progressive change’.
Mr Maskey concluded: `We need a credible talks process. We need the governments to honour commitments made in the Good Friday and other agreements and we need to work collectively against Tory cuts to the Executive’s block grant.’
He said: `Sinn Féin is fully committed to this approach, and we urge all of those vast majority of people both in Ireland and in Britain, who support the Good Friday Agreement, to make their voices heard. We cannot allow an anti-agreement minority to dictate the pace of change.’

‘British must be led to account’ – McGuinness
Speaking on 6 November, Sinn Fein MLA Martin McGuinness said the British government `must be compelled to honour its obligations on dealing with the past’.
Speaking following a human rights conference in Belfast today – addressed by European Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks – Mr McGuinness said the British Government had consistently denied truth and justice to relatives of victims of state violence.
Martin McGuinness said `In the past, Europe has been at the forefront of exposing the actions of British state forces in the North and ongoing international pressure is required if truth and justice is to be secured for the families of victims of state violence.
`In recent times, we have witnessed families being denied an inquiry into the Ballymurphy massacre, the inaction of the PSNI to investigate the actions of the Military Reaction Force, the call for a public inquiry into the deaths of 18 people at the hands of loyalists in Mid Ulster, the PSNI refusal to co-operate with the Gerard Lawlor inquest, the ongoing refusal to honour their commitment to hold an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane and the destruction of documents relating to shoot-to-kill deaths just weeks before an inquest was due to begin.
He added `All of this is rooted in the British government’s failure to honour its Right to Life obligations under the European Convention. It is clear that the British Government fears the truth and I greatly welcome the fact that the Commissioner took the time to come and hear first-hand accounts from the victims of British State violence.
`I also impressed upon him the need for the British Government to be held to account for its failure to uphold its obligations under the convention and to end the stalling and blocking, aimed at preventing families from accessing the truth and justice they deserve.’

Apology demanded over Campbells `grossly offensive’ mockery of Irish Language
On 6 November, Sinn Féin MLA Rosie McCorley said the DUP must apologise for the offence caused by Gregory Campbell’s `grossly offensive’ comments on the Irish language.
Rosie McCorley was speaking after she had raised Gregory Campbell’s comments in the Assembly at a meeting of the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee this morning. The West Belfast MLA said The comments were `grossly offensive’ after he `used pigeon Irish in the Assembly on Monday have caused considerable anger throughout the Irish language community and beyond’.
She said his refusal to apologise `and his subsequent behaviour and attitude in subsequent media interviews have compounded the insult’, adding `if Gregory Campbell himself has not the grace to apologise then the DUP should have the decency to come forward and apologise on his behalf and as a party for the offence his remarks have caused to a significant section of our community.’
She said she had been told by the DUP chair of the Culture committee `that it was not the place to deal with it, despite the fact that DCAL funds several Irish language projects’.
She concluded: `Considerable offence has been caused and he needs to demonstrate that comments bordering on racism are not acceptable.’

Timing is everything
Elsewhere, Sinn Fein Chairperson Declan Kearney has said that Gregory Campbell’s `gratuitous mockery’ of the Irish language in the Assembly last Monday was `not the ill-considered contribution of an inexperienced political representative, nor was it spontaneous’ but was designed to cause deliberate office.
Writing for An Phoblacht, the Sinn Fein Chairperson said this intention was also repeated in several times during interviews on Tuesday.
Campbell’s refusal to apologise was, he said, in keeping with a mindset which in which `unionist politicians don’t ‘do’ humility or self-criticism. For some very senior leaders of political unionism, sectarianism and racist attitudes are acceptable.’
`That mindset fuelled the ethos of the unionist one-party, mono-cultural state which existed in the North for 50 years. It’s why unionist politicians publicly legitimised the past actions of unionist paramilitary death squads and openly fraternised (and still do) with UVF and UDA paramilitaries.
Later in the article Declan Kearney points out: `this incident comes as the fourth week of Stormont talks begin, ostensibly to address the unresolved issues of identity, parades and dealing with the past, among others. That provides the clue to understanding the timing of this particular intervention and the predictable fall-out.’
`The DUP is a divided house. Some in the party are absolutely opposed to power-sharing and partnership government – even at the cost of collapsing the political institutions. Those who opposed power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Féin, and later transfer of policing and justice powers, are again setting the agenda. They are the real authority in the DUP.
`The party’s leadership team is fractured. There is no cohesive political strategy other than to play the talks long and block any more political change. It’s a familiar pattern. Tactical management and manoeuvring for internal influence, and regarding the handling of the Stormont talks, is the order of the day.
`That’s where Gregory Campbell fits in. His remarks were about putting down markers and asserting his own negative, anti-Agreement position for both internal party and public media consumption. Nor is Gregory Campbell simply speaking for himself.
`Of course, the DUP is no monolith. There are bound to be some in that party who are privately embarrassed by Campbell and who would otherwise embrace parity of esteem and mutual respect; who would support power-sharing and would, moreover, honour agreements.
`However, the reality is that Gregory Campbell is more representative of mainstream DUP thinking. And the Traditional Unionist Voice party, the Orange Order and the UVF have more traction with DUP leadership figures than any pragmatic or liberal opinion.
He concludes: `This combined influence will dictate both the DUP and Ulster Unionist Party approaches to the talks. Gregory Campbell was telegraphing confirmation that their agenda will not include agreement to parity of esteem, respect for cultural diversity, and far less implementation of Acht na Gaeilge.
Read the article in full here.

Water charge protests grow: `Citizens won’t settle for less than abolition of charges’ – Adams
On 4 November, following massive public protests against water charges across the state, Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams TD said that the Taoiseach had `underestimated public anger over water charges’.
Speaking in the Dail Gerry Adams said rumoured Government concessions, such as a flat charge, would not suffice and that those who took to the streets in such large numbers last Saturday `would not be satisfied with anything less than the abolition of the Water Tax’.
Gerry Adams said citizens were `sick to the teeth of the relentless austerity and endless list of taxes and charges aimed at those on low and middle incomes’ which the Government has imposed. For many, he said `the Water Tax is the final straw’.
He added `the establishment of Irish Water and [government] efforts to impose Water Charges has been a complete fiasco, replete with a bonus culture and reeking of cronyism’.
He said there was `widespread concern’ that the Government was `setting up the State’s water services for privatisation’. This week, Sinn Féin would, he said `introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill allowing for a referendum to retain control of water services in public ownership.’

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