Adams off to US as pressure mounts on republicans
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams jetted off to the US today as pressure mounted on republicans to end all paramilitary activity.
Mr Adams prepared to attend a number of St Patrick’s Day engagements as it emerged a commission set up to monitor paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland was to produce its first report before Easter.
UK government sources said the Independent Monitoring Commission would produce a separate report into the abduction of Belfast republican Bobby Tohill ahead of schedule next month.
Northern Ireland police chief Hugh Orde blamed the Provisional IRA for the incident. However, the organisation has denied its leadership authorised any kidnapping.
New pressure was placed on republicans to dedicate themselves to solely democratic means as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said all parties knew exactly what had to be done to create stable power-sharing institutions at Stormont.
Both leaders vowed to step up the pace of talks in a bid to force a breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mr Blair said a new phase of intensive talks involving all the parties would begin after the St Patrick’s Day break.
“The two issues are indeed how we bring about an end to paramilitarism, whether loyalist or republican, and also then how we make sure that there is a genuine willingness to share power,” he said.
He said the end to all paramilitarism must be clear and definitive.
“If that is done, if that commitment is given and followed through, it is, as I understand it, the position of both the main unionist parties that they are prepared to enter into government,” he said.
“If there is an end to paramilitarism, they are prepared to be in government, so it is on that basis that we have got to move forward.”
Unionists have been pressing the two governments to impose sanctions on Sinn Féin following the kidnapping of Mr Tohill last month.
Mr Adams claimed earlier this week that the Irish Government was contemplating excluding his party from the political process.
However, Mr Ahern insisted last night: “We are trying to do the opposite to that.”
Mr Ahern said only all-inclusive talks would lead to a lasting resolution of the problems in the peace process.
Both men also welcomed the pledge to produce an early report by the IMC which was set up last year to comment regularly on paramilitary activity.
Both premiers insisted a new sense of urgency had to be injected into the process.
“We have no intention, no intention whatever, of leaving it to drift to local elections and European elections, not to mind to any elections that are to follow,” Mr Ahern said.
“We really want to get dealing with it in the third week of March and we are absolutely committed to that.”
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