Blair says Adams speech means change
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has reiterated his view that the speech by Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams on Tuesday marked a significant change in the position of the republican movement.
Yesterday, Mr Blair claimed the speech declared an end to the IRA’s armed struggle, but anti-agreement unionists have insisted that it contained nothing that Mr Adams hadn’t said before.
The Sinn Féin president’s exact words were: “Implementation by the two governments and the parties of their commitments under the [Good Friday] agreement provides the context in which Irish republicans and unionists will, as equals, pursue their objectives peacefully, thus providing full and final closure of the conflict.”
