IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ Friday-Sunday, 6-8 July, 2001 1. DRUMCREE PARADE PASSES QUIETLY 2. Critical talks begin at new venue 3. Pipe and petrol bomb attacks 4. Parade anger lingers on Springfield road 5. Opinion poll ban opposed 6. Joe McDonnell anniversary marked 7. Women's delegations visits South Armagh 8. 50 new British nuclear power stations possible 9. Feature: West Papuans hopeful of independence 10. Analysis: Adams on arms ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> DRUMCREE PARADE PASSES QUIETLY The Orange Order parade to Drumcree in Portadown passed off relatively peacefully yesterday as Orangemen marched up to a giant green steel barrier on Drumcree Hill in a re-run of last year's stand-off. The Orangemen's preferred route through the nationalist Garvaghy Road was blocked after they failed to engage in dialogue with Catholic residents. The residents oppose what they see as a coat-trailing, triumphalist parade through their area. After the now traditional protest at the barricade, local Orange Grand Master Harold Gracey made a relatively low-key speech in which he vowed to continue his weekly protests on the hill, and urged supporters to join him. But absent was the appeal for widespread loyalist disorder which marked his infamous tirade last year. A huge military operation in Portadown at the weekend saw 1,600 British troops drafted in to keep loyalists from forcing their way into the Garvaghy Road. Razor-wire and a water-filled trench kept loyalists from circumventing the barricade which has blocked their contentious route through the Catholic enclave for a fourth year. But loyalist numbers were considerably down on previous years and only token efforts were made to surmount the obstacles. A demonstration by supporters of jailed paramilitary Johnny Adair on Thursday had raised fears of loyalist violence. Portadown district spokesman David Jones said the next few days leading to the twelfth were "crucial". "There has never been violence at Drumcree on any of the Sundays. We would ask people who are coming to our protest over the next few days to respect our wishes for it to be peaceful." Nationalist representatives welcomed the calls for protests to be peaceful, but remained concerned by the number of leading loyalist paramilitaries around the Garvaghy Road. A sense of siege remains, and residents spokesman Breandan Mac Cionnaith warned of possible trouble in the run up to the twelfth of July, the high point of the marching calendar. "We don't know if they (loyalist paramilitaries) will be launching attacks against the Catholic communities in the coming days before the twelfth," he said. "Let's hold judgment about the peaceful Drumcree until we can see the results by July 12th." Loyalists later threw fireworks and petrol bombs over the huge steel barrier blocking the path to the Garvaghy Road. The crowds which had dwindled earlier in the afternoon swelled to around 700 by 10pm. A vehicle was set alight in the loyalist Corcrain estate. There were also disturbances in Belfast up to 11pm last night with police examining a suspicious device on the Ligoniel Road in north Belfast. A number of roads were also blocked for short periods. Mr Mac Cionnaith repeated his call for Portadown Orangemen to enter into direct dialogue with nationalist residents, something they have always refused or avoided. "It has always been our position that the best way to resolve this local difficulty in Portadown is for the district office in Portadown to sit down with representatives of this community and try to get a local agreement to what essentially is a local problem," he said. He said the protest at Drumcree hill involved those bent on wrecking the peace process. "I am not involved in the political process, but the people here who are marching out to Drumcree today are anti-agreement Unionists," he said. "They are people who wish to see the Good Friday agreement fail." Sinn Fein assembly member Dara O'Hagan said it appeared that the Drumcree protest was fizzling out. "It is certainly much more low key than in previous years. I certainly think a large section of people within the unionist community don't want anything to do with what is happening at Drumcree," she said. "It is very clear that the extremes within loyalism that are using this protest at Drumcree." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Critical talks begin at new venue The main pro-agreement parties and the British and Irish governments gather for talks in England today aimed at breaking the continuing political impasse. The talks are possibly the most important in the process of implementing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and follow the resignation last week of Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble as First Minister of the Belfast Assembly. The move to Weston Park near Birmingham in the British midlands is aimed at reducing distractions and providing a change of scene for negotiators. British Secretary of State John Reid said he hoped the structure of the talks would make it possible to "resurrect some of the vision that accompanied the original Good Friday agreement". The parties and two governments have five weeks to reach agreement before Mr Trimble seeks re-election in the Assembly to the post of First Minister. Failure to elect a First Minister would mean fresh Assembly elections. The suspension of the North's institutions by the British government and the reimposition of direct rule from London is not being considered at this time, according to reports. Unionists are calling for a public act of arms decommissioning by the IRA. Sinn Fein is insisting the British honour its commitments on policing reform, the reduction of its military presence and the defence of the new political institutions from unionist wrecking tactics. The two prime ministers have said they are optimistic about progress being made. Speaking ahead of the talks, Irish premier Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he believed there "could be a successful conclusion". British Prime MInister Tony Blair said there was a deep sense of obligation "to crack the remaining issues". Mr Trimble said the talks process had reached a critical phase. "We are approaching, I think, what may very well be the moment of truth for this entire process ..." said Mr Trimble. "We have worked very hard to try to realise the Agreement ... and we have seen precious little thanks and very little support from other parties." Mr Trimble was accompanied by Reg Empey, Jeffrey Donaldson, John Taylor and James Cooper. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the peace process was in "considerable difficulties" but that his party welcomed the talks "and the opportunity that they give for both ourselves and the other parties and the two governments to straighten things out," he said. "The process has become lost and it has to be put back on the right road and that's certainly our intention in coming here." Speaking on Sunday at a commemoration to hunger striker Joe McDonnell in Lenadoon, west Belfast, Mr Adams bemoaned the lack of perspective over the talks. "The main focus is around IRA weapons," he said. "No matter that they have been silent. "No matter that the only threat from guns comes from loyalist weapons which are daily being used against ordinary Catholics in beleaguered areas from blast bombs, from pipe bombs and from gun attacks. "No matter that the British government has commissioned a new plastic bullet which have already been used in north Belfast against nationalists. "No matter that, in another end of this constituency, British troops were used to force an Orange parade through a nationalist area while in north Belfast young primary children cannot get to school." The Sinn Fein president, whose six-strong negotiating team includes Martin McGuinness, Bairbre de Brun, Gerry Kelly, Michelle Gildernew and Aengus O Snodaigh, said the challenge lay with all sides. But he added: "In my opinion there is no possibility of unionist demands, or British government demands on IRA weapons being conceded by the IRA in the time ahead. "It is not possible. It is not within our gift and is not the responsibility of Sinn Fein to deliver to unionists." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Pipe and petrol bomb attacks The home of a County Antrim parish priest was hit by three petrol bombs early yesterday morning, almost exactly a year after a similar attack. The parochial house of Father Greg Cormican in the Sacred Heart Parish on the mainly loyalist Doagh Road in Ballyclare suffered scorch damage and a broken window after the petrol bombs exploded at the front of the house. "This is the same thing that happened at the same time last year. There aren't many Catholics in this area, but we have a good relationship with the locals -- they are decent people," he said. The priest, who has been with the parish for seven years, said messages of support from residents had been streaming in. He said: "The phone hasn't stopped ringing with people round here expressing their disgust at this attack. There is not a lot of trouble here." Father Cormican, who is also the priest at Antrim hospital, said he woke to find smashed glass and fire damage to the front of his house. "I woke just after 5am and saw the damage to the front off my house. Luckily, I have double glazing and the bombs didn't break through the inner pane," he said. Elsewhere, two pipe bombs exploded inside a car abandoned outside a GAA Gaelic sports club in County Antrim this morning. A second bomb alert outside another GAA club in Ballycastle was declared a hoax. And a petrol bomb attack on the home of a Catholic family in Armagh caused scorch damage to the house in Rosemount Park in the city on Sunday night, but no-one was injured. Another petrol bomb was found abandoned nearby. ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Parade anger lingers on Springfield road "The Parades Commission had little credibility in this area," said John McGivern of the Springfield Residents Action Group, "but since their decision last week their credibility has evaporated here." He was speaking after the Parades Commission bowed to pressure from the RUC and abandoned its determination to ban Orange bands from parading along the nationalist Springfield Road. The initial ruling was announced on Monday and the Orange march was set to parade from the Shankill to Woodvale Avenue, where the bands would split from the main body of the parade to walk through Ballysillan to the West Circular Road onto the Springfield Road facing the Farset Centre and on to their Orange Lodge. The route scheduled for the bands had been accepted by local residents, as it largely avoided passing nationalist residential areas. Residents did object to the Parades Commission's decision to allow the main body of the parade to pass through the walled peace line at gates on Workman Avenue and onto the Springfield Road. This route allowed Orangemen to parade through a nationalist area without entering into dialogue or seeking the consent of local people. Last year, the same Orange Parade flouted restrictions imposed by the Parades Commission and allowed a loyalist paramilitary colour party carrying sectarian flags to march through the nationalist area. "On Wednesday, delegates from residents' group and their solicitor met with the Parades Commission to voice concern over the decision to allow Orangemen through the peaceline at Workman's Avenue," says John. The gate in the 20-foot wall dividing the two communities is closed all year bar two occasions when it is opened to facilitate Orange marches into a Catholic area. "It makes no sense," says John. The Parades Commission's response to the delegation was described as 'hostile'. "The delegation was told you have 15 minutes," says John, "then ten minutes, five minutes and then the meeting was closed. The Parades Commission is always calling for dialogue but if you're a nationalist they don't want to listen." For nationalist residents living along the Springfield Road, the commission's decision to allow an Orange march, even without their 'kick the Pope' bands, was traumatic enough and then the Parades Commission made it even worse. On the eve of the scheduled Orange Parade, the Commission announced that it had revised its original determination and Orange bands would now be joining the main parade through an entrance at Mackies, an industrial plant situated along the peaceline less than 50 yards up from Workman's Avenue. "It was an outrageous reversal," says John, "and the last minute timing of the announcement allowed no time for the decision to be challenged." And residents were left with the pretence that delaying Orange bands from joining the main parade for less than two minutes amounted to the restriction being upheld. A day prior to the announcement, the RUC was spotted mapping out the new route within the grounds of Mackies factory. A short time later, RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan met British Secretary of State John Reid and asked him to sign a requisition order turning over the Mackies site to the control of the RUC. Reid conceded. "The RUC overruled the Parades Commission and the British government allowed it to happen," says John. "There had been no mention of Mackies gates as a proposed route by the Orange Order. It was clearly an RUC initiative." At 6.30am on Saturday morning, the British Army moved into the nationalist Springfield Road area and began erecting wire above the peaceline. "They claimed it was for our protection," says John, "but we asked why had we not been protected when loyalists were throwing pipe and petrol bombs over the wall earlier in the year." At 11.30am, British Army lorries moved in at the corner of Elswick Street and the Springfield Road and began unloading concrete bollards with steel bar barriers and razor wire. When a local man objected to the barricade being erected in his garden, he and his local councillor Tom Hartley were manhandled by RUC men in full riot gear and pushed aside. British Crown forces were already confronting local people, restricting their movements and ordering them inside their homes and it was still three hours before the Orange parade was scheduled to take place. "Many people don't realise that an Orange parade might only take 20 minutes to pass but the intimidation of nationalists begins hours before and only ends hours later," says John. "The whole day is disrupted and the entire neighbourhood is tense and unsettled for hours. "If Orangemen could only respect the wishes of their Catholic neighbours and reroute their parades through their own areas, all this tension would no longer be necessary." Around 3pm, the Orange Order marched through the gates at Workman Avenue and onto the Springfield Road. A few moments later, they were joined by Orange bands arriving through the gates at Mackies factory. The bands had been instructed by the Parades Commission not to play within the nationalist residential area but this restriction was flouted. Local Sinn Fein councillor Tom Hartley said the Parades Commission's decision was disgraceful. He said it had again totally ignored the wishes and fears of the residents of the Springfield Road and also rewarded the Orange Order for their past breaches of their restrictions. "What is also clear is that the RUC, the armed wing of unionism, has intervened politically on behalf of the Orange Order to allow this march to go ahead. This is an unacceptable situation for nationalists," said Hartley. "British government complacency and the RUC Chief Constable's apparent advocacy on behalf of the Orange Order bodes ill for the coming weekend's Orange march to Drumcree. If the experience of Springfield Road residents is anything to go by, nationalist residents on the Garvaghy Road can take no comfort in the Parades Commission's announcement that Orangemen will not walk through their area." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Opinion poll ban opposed Sinn Fein's Caoimhghin O Caolain has signalled his intention to oppose the Dublin government's ban on opinion polls in the ten days before an election. He described it as a "sweeping measure" which "infringes freedom of information". Deputy O Caolain said the measure had been "hastily adopted" by the government in the immediate aftermath of its recent by-election defeat in South Tipperary. Fianna Fail leaders blamed the result on the publication of an opinion poll in the final days, although the party came third behind Fine Gael and an independent community candidate. The move has added to speculation that the government intends to call an election in the Autumn. With the Irish economy wweakening and Ahern's increasing difficulty in maintaining his minority coalition government, October is now being spoken of as a possible date for a run to the electoorate. "Regardless of the merits, if any, of the proposal to ban opinion polls in the days before an election, it deserves much more consideration and study before enacting such a sweeping measure," O Caolain said. Sinn Fein support has consistently been underestimated by opinion polls, and for a long time the party was not even included in polls. "There are many issues around political polls to be teased out," he added. "No strong arguments have been presented to support such a measure which infringes what is a basic right - freedom of speech and freedom of information." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Joe McDonnell anniversary marked This weekend saw the anniversary of the death on hunger strike of Joe McDonnell, the fifth hunger striker to die in 1981. To mark his death the Lenadoon 1981 Committee have organised a weekend of events to commemorate the death. The programme began with a football match at St Teresa's GAC club between the Lenadoon '81 Committee and an ex-POW select team. Both Joe McDonnell and Kieran Doherty were members of St Teresa's. White line pickets took place on the main routes throughout Belfast and later a march took place through the area to the house on Lenadoon Avenue where McDonnell lived before his arrest in 1976. Unveiling a commemorative plagu at the house, and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams praised the republican legend who died after 61 days on the fast. Mr Adams told the assembled crowd that events taking place at Drumcree were an attempt to intimidate the people of the Garvaghy Road and to do what was attempted with the hunger strikers 20 years ago, "to isolate, marginalise and threaten them". He said: "We stand by the people of the Garvaghy Road just as we stood by the hunger strikers 20 years ago." A memorial Mass was later celebrated for the hunger strikers, and in the evening evening a well-attended lecture was given on the history of hunger strikes in Ireland in the Rodai MacCorlai Club on the Glen Road. AUSTRALIAN TRIBUTE More than 80 people gathered at a luncheon in the Speakers Garden of the New South Wales Parliament on 22 June to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike and to celebrate Sinn Fein's recent election victories and the defeat of the Treaty of Nice referendum. Among them were 15 Members of Parliament (another five MPs, including Police Minister Paul Whelan, sent their apologies). They were joined by Irish community leaders, Aboriginal representatives and trade union leaders from the maritime, public service, mining, construction and rural industries. The commemoration was organised by Australian Aid for Ireland and hosted by Labour MPS Jim Anderson and Paul Lynch. Jim Neeson, from Sinn Fein's International Department in Belfast was the invited speaker. The commemoration was booked for a function room in Parliament House but had to be moved to the Speaker's Garden to cater for the large turnout. ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Women's delegations visits South Armagh Delegates from the women's group of Ireland's governing Fianna Fail party visited south Armagh last week to observe British military activity. Delegates said they would be making Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern aware of their visit and would recommend the urgent need for demilitarisation. The group earlier met with the South Armagh Farmers and Residents Committee and Newry and Armagh assembly member Conor Murphy. Mr Murphy said the British government was obliged to produce a schedule for demilitarisation in 1998 "and they have not made any effective moves - particularly in this area." He said the Good Friday Agreement was still the only way forward. "This is an international agreement protecting international law. The Dublin government and British government are guarantors of that agreement," he said. "David Trimble's resignation, damaging as it is to the overall process, should not stop the British government doing what needs to be done." "Movement on demilitarisation, policing, equality legislation and justice matters are not concessions to republicans or nationalists - they are rights that people should have been enjoying all along. "People who live in this area have a right to live free from military presence," he added. ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> 50 new British nuclear power stations possible Have you heard the one about the government so concerned about the environmental consequences of greenhouse gases they decided to build more nuclear power stations? No, this is not a joke. It is happening, and worse still, happening on our doorstep. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has initiated an energy policy review headed by Energy minister Brian Wilson, a blunt advocate of nuclear power. Blair's energy review came in the same week that British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) announced losses of #210 million sterling for the last year. It is their second year of operations. Despite the fact that BNFL is leaking money as well as radioactive waste, they are still seeking to not only build new power stations but also subsidise the closure of their existing Magnox reactors. They are supposed to be decommissioned by 2010. BNFL face shutdown costs of over #34 billion to shutdown and dismantle these plants. Also in disarray is British Nuclear Fuels' nuclear waste reprocessing business. The company is seeking to delay by a year delivery of their first tranche of reprocessed waste to German and Japanese customers. BNFL are also waiting approval to open their #480 million Mox fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield. BNFL are not the only nuclear power generator in Britain. The privatised British Energy company has 15 reactors, including seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs), which are supposed to be shut down in 2025. This is already a delay of ten years from what should have been their original shutdown date. British Energy is now lobbying to have this deadline extended. Both companies have been lobbying the British government to not only extend the life of existing power stations but to let them press ahead with the construction of new ones. The British government is open to this idea because it sees nuclear power as a method of ensuring it meets its commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto protocol. Currently in Britain, the mix of power sources is as follows. A quarter of Britain's power comes from gas, 30% from coal, 25% is nuclear generated, 2.5% comes from renewable resources and the rest is imported. Britain is already importing some gas for power generation and energy minister Brian Wilson estimates that by 2020, 90% of British gas will be imported. Blair's new Labour government is committed to having 10% of its power come from renewable resources by 2010. This target is now believed to be unattainable. Rather than commit the same level of resources given to subsidising nuclear power to developing renewable energy, the British government looks to be taking the soft option of just building more nuclear power stations. It would take the construction of 50 new nuclear power stations to be able to maintain power supply while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Both BE and BNFL propose building most of these stations on existing sites. Ten of British Energy's current 15 nuclear facilities are on the west coast of Britain, incredibly close to Ireland's densest population centers. The New Labour government has stressed that the energy policy review has yet to reach any conclusions. However, British newspapers have reported openly on the significant pressure being brought by the nuclear lobby in the corridors of power and New Labour's recent election manifesto had deleted any pledges not to build new nuclear power stations. Sinn Fein's Arthur Morgan has called on the Dublin government to urgently take up this matter with the British government and ask them to clarify what their position is on not only the start up of the Mox fuel reprocessing plant but on expanding the nuclear power industry in Britain. "The last thing the communities on the east coast of Ireland need is more nuclear facilities and more new power plants in Britain," said the Louth county councillor. "The safety record of the British nuclear industry in not just power generation but in storage and reprocessing of nuclear waste is dire. The British need to be dismantling their nuclear power industry, not expanding it." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Feature: West Papuans hopeful of independence BY SOLEDAD GALIANA West Papua is one of the world's forgotten nations. After nearly 40 years of conflict, it is only in the last few years that the international community has become aware of its plight. Repressed by the Indonesian government, ignored by the West, Papuans struggle to survive as a people. Sem Karoba, who represents Papua's Union of Students, is also the international spokesperson for the Papuan Presidium Council, the institution that represents the will of the Papuan people. His work consists of spreading information about the situation in West Papua and lobbying politicians and governments. West Papua is situated in the western part of the world's second largest island, in the Western Pacific, north of Australia. It has not figured on the international political agenda since 1952, when the Netherlands conceded to West Papua the right to self-determination. Had Indonesia not intervened, West Papua would have achieved self-determination by 1970. On 17 August 1945, the Republic of the United States of Indonesia - a federation of 16 states - was proclaimed. By that time, Indonesia already had its eye on West Papua, but it was not until Sukarno managed to transform the Indonesian federation into a so-called "Unitary Republic" - a centralised state controlled by the Javanese elite - that the Indonesian establishment moved. By the end of the 1950s, after a number of military encounters, the Dutch and Indonesian governments, under pressure from the US, sat down to negotiate the future of West Papua. They signed the New York Agreement in 1962. No one from the West Papuan representative bodies was invited to the negotiations. No West Papuan was ever consulted. "The Dutch government knew that the West Papuans had chosen representatives, what was called at the time the New Guinea Council, but they were ignored; there was no consultation, legally or personally," explains Karoba. "What we said last year in a resolution of the West Papuan Congress was that we refute this Agreement. We were not part of the drafting, signing and/or implementation process. They were talking about Papuans, but no Papuans were involved." Indonesia took over West Papua, or Irian Jaya, as Indonesia termed the territory, on 1 May 1963. International supervision ceased. In 1965, when the West Papuan people saw the Indonesian military moving in, and realised that the international community had decided to ignore their plight for independence, they started fighting. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) was created. They fought against the Indonesian military with bows and arrows. Indonesia reacted with increasing repression and military attacks. In late 1981, after a Dutch television crew had filmed hundreds of people carrying spears and shouting anti-Indonesian slogans, the Indonesian military bombarded one of the most densely populated areas of West Papua, the Paniai basin, killing 2,500 people. In 1969, Sukarno moved to fulfil one of the New York Agreement clauses, which stipulated that the Papuans should have a chance to vote for or against integration with Indonesia. So he organised the Act of Free Choice. "We had 880,000 inhabitants in West Papua," recalls Karoba, "but only 1,025 people were selected by the government to vote, including my father and some of his friends. They were lied to; they could not speak Indonesian, so they were just told what to say, and forced to repeat it. They were taught to say "I like Indonesia", "I want Indonesia", "I do not like Netherlands", "Welcome Indonesia"... they were all drilled during four or five months before the Act of Free Choice was going to take place. And on the day they were told to repeat what they had been taught." Meanwhile, the Guinea Council - the West Papuan parliament established by the Netherlands - was banned. Its members were prosecuted. Many of them are still in exile in the Netherlands. "People were not allowed to freely express their opinions, and legitimate representatives were not allowed to vote. So, it was not democratic, it did not respect human rights," says Karoba. The UN Secretary General's special representative during the 'referendum' in West Papua, Fernando Ortiz-Sanz, reporting the result to the UN, expressed his doubts over the handling of the so-called referendum: "I regret to have to express my reservation regarding the implementation of article XXII of the Agreement relating 'to the rights, including the rights to free speech, freedom of movement and of assembly, of the inhabitants of the area'. In spite of my constant efforts, this important provision was not fully implemented and the Administration exercised at all times a tight political control over the population," he said. After the arrival of the troops, Indonesia set to take over West Papua using the old method of plantation. They called it "Transmigration". The transmigration programme has deeply affected Papuans' lives. After 30 years of plantation, the West Papuan indigenous population is now a minority. There are only 1.5 million Papuans, compared to around two or 2.5 million Javanese in West Papua. The Indonesians settled where tribal people used to live and to 'protect' the new settlements, there was an increased military presence. Indonesian legislation does not allow for the publication of books that refer to West Papua in any way as a separate entity. There are no books on West Papua or using the West Papuan language. There is also a media blackout on the different ethnic groups. "We are not allowed to speak our language in the streets or markets. The military are everywhere and they do not allow you to speak your language. I cannot sing any song in the West Papuan language. Our music has been banned. The only place where we can speak our language and express our culture freely is in the jungle," says Karoba. "We are not allowed to carry anything on our hair or hands to symbolise that we are Papuans. We cannot play our music on a tape recorder. And we have 245 tribes, 245 languages. All are ignored and everyone is Indonesian." The Indonesians have strong economic interests in remaining in West Papua. Papuans are sitting on the most desired copper, silver and gold reserves in the world, calculated to have stocks for more than 100 years. "When Western countries say that they do not want to denounce Indonesian activities in West Papua, what they are really saying is that they want to protect their investments. It is not about Indonesian 'Balkanisation'. Bush can say that he is worried about Indonesia, but actually, he is worried about what Americans want, and they want to exploit West Papua's resources. They do not care about human rights violations in West Papua or the political situation in Indonesia, only about economics," says Karoba. At the moment, Indonesia is in turmoil. President Wahid is facing possible impeachment in Parliament, and the fight for the presidency is in full swing, with Wahid's deputy, Megawati Sukarnoputri, moving closer to the military to facilitate a takeover if Wahid falls. "Wahid's only strength is West Papua, Aceh, Moluccas, Borneo, and Matura...", explains Karoba. "The ultra-islands, as we call them, to differentiate them from the Javanese island. He has declared that if he steps down, he will give independence to all the ultra-islanders." Karoba believes West Papua and other island nations stand a good chance of obtaining independence, but it very much relies on the will of President Wahid. At the moment, the OPM is on a ceasefire to allow for political dialogue. "This is the right time. That is the reason why we are coming to Ireland, because you have the experience of colonisation and transmigration, because you know about negotiating and reaching a peaceful settlement. The Good Friday Agreement is a good example." ------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> Analysis: Adams on arms ------------------------------------------------------------- -- As talks resume in England today, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP MLA sets out Sinn Fein's position on the arms issue. ------------------------------------------------------------- -- Sinn Fein wants to see the gun taken out of Irish politics. All of the parties and the two governments agree on this. Enormous progress has been made in the last 6 years particularly on the issue of IRA arms. IRA guns are silent and the IRA cessations are now into their 7th year. The IRA has acknowledged that the issue of arms has to be dealt with as part of a conflict resolution process, and last year the IRA leadership set out a context in which it would put its weapons veritably beyond use. In addition it undertook the unprecedented step of allowing strangers to examine its arms dumps and to confirm that they have not been used. And finally, the IRA is engaged with the IICD [arms body]. These are not small, unimportant events. No one who lived through the 70s, or 80s, or most of the 90s, or who has even as a cursory understanding of republican history and theology would ever have considered any of these things possible. These are huge developments, which in the proper context point the way to a future free of IRA weapons. The Sinn Fein leadership helped to create the conditions that made this possible. We did so because of our commitment to a lasting and just peace settlement on this island. The unionist response to this progress has been to ignore Sinn Fein's democratic mandate, the mandate of the other parties, the referendum, the Good Friday Agreement itself and their responsibilities and obligations. Many republicans are angry at a Unionist leadership ridicules, belittles and undermines this progress, while at the same time doing absolutely nothing to end the daily bomb and guns attacks by loyalists on catholic families. They are angry at a British government which underpins the UUP position, in breach of the Agreement, and which has remilitarized nationalist and republican heart-lands. If the issue of arms is to be dealt with effectively the unionists and the British need to get real. The future of IRA weapons will not be resolved on unionist or British terms. It can be resolved as part of a genuine conflict resolution process. This means it has to be dealt with as an objective of the peace process and not as a precondition to the political process. Moreover nationalist and republican rights and entitlements cannot be conditional on what the IRA, or any other armed group does. In the Good Friday Agreement these matters, that is policing, demilitarization, human rights, the justice system and the equality agenda, are stand alone issues. This cannot be a bartering process. Either citizens have rights or we don't. Sinn FEin accepts our responsibilities on the arms issue. All the other parties have exactly the same responsibility. They need to consider what they have done to instill confidence within physical force republicanism that unionism and the British government is serious about building a just and equitable dispensation. What has Mr. Trimble or Mr. Blair done to achieve that? In recent years Sinn Fein has gone much further than the GFA in our effort to resolve this issue. But what has David Trimble done to secure the silence of loyalist weapons? What influence or initiatives, or discussions, or efforts has David Trimble or the British PM made to stop the nightly bomb attacks against Catholics, or the gun attacks that have resulted in catholic deaths? At a time when the concentration by unionists and the British is on IRA weapons, whose responsibility is it to deal with the issue of loyalist arms and of British arms? At this time the answer would appear to be no one! For my part, I believe that the issue of arms can be resolved. But I do not believe that the issue of arms, all arms held by all armed groups including those held by the state forces, will be resolved within the 6 week artificial deadline imposed by David Trimble's cynical and calculated resignation, or on British government or unionist terms. This is not within the gift of the Sinn Fein leadership to deliver and I have told the governments and other parties this. If the negotiations are to be successful then the two governments and all the parties need to return to the Good Friday Agreement. It contains the template for dealing with this issue and the many other matters that needed to be resolved as part of this conflict resolution process. Sinn FEin understands the approach to resolving the weapons issue. We have built a strategy around it. Our strategy is based on the Good Friday Agreement. It is make your mind up time for both the British government and unionism. For our part Sinn Fein will do everything we can to make this process survive and deliver, We will do our best. Mr. Blair and Mr. Trimble must do likewise. The Good Friday Agreement is about creating a new political dispensation based on equality and parity of esteem. How is this to be achieved by making an objective of a peace process a precondition for the political process? How can the two governments square this with their stated objectives to implement the Good Friday Agreement? Has the agreement become the Good Friday Agreement as interpreted by unionism, subject to continuous re-negotiation, or are the governments genuinely committed to the historic compromise endorsed by citizens in referendums in May 1998? c. RM Distribution and others. Articles may be reprinted with credit. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= RM Distribution Irish Republican News and Information http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ PO Box 160, Galway, Ireland Phone/Fax: (353)1-6335113 PO Box 8630, Austin TX 78713, USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= RMD1010709111910u17
