Hold firm against hard-liners, Adams tells unionists

The Democratic Unionist leadership must hold firm against hard-line elements within its own party, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said today.

Speaking at his party Ard Fheis in Dublin, Mr Adams said the future of the devolved political institutions in the North rested on DUP leader Ian Paisley’s ability to face down the opponents of the current arrangements.

The West Belfast MP claimed the DUP’s reluctance to agree to the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster by the May deadline was being guided by a perceived need to appease unionist hard-liners both inside and outside the party.

The Sinn Féin president, who said there seemed to be a pro-active effort to oust the First Minister from office, urged his long standing political rival to hold his nerve.

“Most people were uplifted, if a little taken aback, by the visible signs that Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley have a civilised working relationship,” he told delegates at Dublin’s RDS arena.

“Others within unionism, who are opposed to this process, including some within Ian Paisley’s own party, have an opposite view.

“They are against powersharing. And they have been actively seeking to bring it to an end. And that is the context for the refusal to agree the transfer of powers on policing and justice at this time.

“It is a sad commentary on the state of unionism that the focus of some is to force a situation where Ian Paisley must go.

“The political institutions would not be in place if long sighted DUP leaders had not taken the initiative.

“They need to stand up to the rejectionists to ensure the stability and durability of the institutions.”

He said the DUP had to deliver on policing and on other commitments outlined in the St Andrews Agreement to protect the Irish language.

“The future of the DUP, the future of unionism, and of the power sharing arrangements will be decided, to a very large extent, by the way DUP leaders deal with these matters,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Paisley had said republicans had a long way to go to convince unionists they could be trusted with policing and justice powers.

Stormont’s First Minister claimed there was no public appetite for the transfer of the responsibilities while the IRA Army council still existed and sectarian attacks against Orange halls continued.

The North Antrim MP said the agreement signed at St Andrews in 2006 was between the Irish and British governments and his party was not bound by any of its stated deadlines.

Mr Adams told the Ard Fheis he rejected that stance.

“Let me be clear,” he told a packed auditorium. “We expect the Irish and British governments to honour the commitments they made at St Andrews.

“The DUP has said they will not agree to this, at this time. And they have advanced a number of spurious reasons for this. They claim that there is not sufficient public confidence – that the time is not right.

“I disagree strongly. I believe that the majority of people, nationalist and unionist, want these powers transferred now.

“They want local accountable politicians dealing with issues as diverse as police call out times for emergencies and the PSNI’s response to anti-social behaviour and sex crime.

“Thirty six years ago this month it was unionists who collapsed the Stormont regime because the British removed law and order powers. It is ironic that nowadays it is unionists who are objecting to the return of these powers.”

In a wide ranging speech, Mr Adams also reiterated his party’s opposition to the EU Lisbon Treaty ahead of a referendum on the proposed changes to European governance.

“The Lisbon Treaty gives EU institutions too much power,” he said.

“These proposals are about reducing the political clout of the Irish people including the right to stop EU laws that are not in the Irish national interest.”

In an attempt to reassert his party’s all-Ireland credentials after its poor electoral showing in the General Election last year, Mr Adams spoke on various economic and social issues affecting the Republic.

Tapping into growing pubic concern about political sleaze on both sides of the border, he also reaffirmed his party’s commitment to the highest standards in public life.

“Public representatives should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to anyone who might influence them in the carrying out of their duties,” he said.