Blair under pressure to tackle street violence
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was under intense pressure from unionists tonight to face down republicans over street violence after a rural police station in Northern Ireland came under attack from masked youths.
Around 40-50 youths threw stones and bottles at the station in Rosslea, Co Fermanagh around lunchtime in an incident police were linking to a visit by Sinn Fein’s youth wing.
Earlier Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble warned Mr Blair that crucial talks in Hillsborough on Thursday involving the Irish Premier Bertie Ahern and pro-Agreement parties were his ‘‘last chance’’ to deal with the ‘‘deteriorating’’ situation on the ground.
Warning the Government it risked losing public support unless the situation was resolved, Mr Trimble claimed: ‘‘I think this might actually be Tony Blair’s last chance to get a grip on the situation.
‘‘It is clear, and senior police officers have said this, that the violence has been orchestrated by paramilitaries on all sides but primarily by the Republican Movement, and we’ve had a serious increase of violence and no effective action so far by the Government in response to this.
‘‘The inevitable consequence of that is that support for the present arrangements is rapidly vanishing.’’
Unionists have been growing steadily disillusioned with the Government over what they see as its failure to deal with persistent allegations over ongoing IRA activity.
Claims that the IRA have orchestrated disturbances in Belfast, were behind the break-in at a top security police station in March, were targeting people and tested weapons in Colombia have caused some in the Ulster Unionist Party to question their support for the Good Friday Agreement.
Sinn Fein has denied the allegations.
UUP honorary secretary Arlene Foster, an Agreement sceptic, claimed after today’s incident the Prime Minister had to ‘‘decide if he is going to stand up for law and order and honour the promise he made in 1998 to remove those who still use violence from the government of Northern Ireland.
‘‘I think we were lucky that no-one was injured but I have to say this sort of incident is in keeping with what is going on in the streets of Belfast.
‘‘The time is coming when the British government is really going to have to stand up to republican disorder on our streets by tackling Sinn Fein.’’
The violence in Rosslea came on the back of clashes yesterday between nationalists and police after an Orange parade in west Belfast.
There were also disturbances in the early hours of yesterday between nationalists and police in the Short Strand area of east Belfast and with loyalists.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams last night told an inauguration dinner for the party’s first Mayor of Belfast, Alex Maskey that he wanted to play ‘‘a leadership role’’ in trying to bring an end republican violence.
The West Belfast MP insisted: ‘‘I want to reiterate again that Irish republicans are absolutely and firmly committed to the peace process.
‘‘I want to assure unionists that the republican promotion of the equality and justice and human rights agenda is about securing the entitlements of every citizen and of building a strong and open democracy in which we can all promote and articulate our differing goals peacefully and democratically.
‘‘I want to repeat again tonight what I said last July in London that I am totally committed to playing a leadership role in bringing a permanent end to political conflict on our island including the end of physical force republicanism.’’
Mr Adams is due to travel to Dublin tomorrow for talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
