More work needed for disarmament, says Adams
A lot more work needs to be done before the IRA can be persuaded to disarm, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams warned today.
Mr Adams, speaking after the marathon round of talks aimed at restoring devolution to Northern Ireland, said that at the moment there was not enough on the table to secure a deal.
“The question of going to the IRA doesn’t even arise at this moment if we can’t get (Ulster Unionist Party leader) David Trimble to stay in one place long enough to find out exactly where he is on all of these issues,” he said.
Intensive talks will continue between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists to find a way out of the impasse.
Mr Adams said that while progress had been made with the British government over policing, criminal justice and human rights there was still unfinished business.
“At the moment if there isn’t enough to get a doable deal between all of the parties then we’ll have to judge all of those other matters in that context,” he added.
One of the major stumbling blocks preventing a deal is the Ulster Unionists insistence on sanctions imposed on Sinn Fein if the IRA continued its terror campaign.
The Sinn Fein president repeated his view that this was unacceptable.
“Sinn Fein is not against parties or party members being held to account if they are in breach of commitments or pledges of offers or house rules.
“We cannot accept and will not accept the Government stepping outside the Good Friday Agreement to bring in sanctions which are aimed at us for something another organisation may or may not be responsible for,” he added.
