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29th May 2003
Adams - Elections must go ahead
Speaking today outside Castle Buildings, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP said ``Sinn Fein is encouraging people all over the island of Ireland to demonstrate their opposition to the undemocratic actions of the British government, to demand their rights and to give the British government a clear message- the elections must go ahead. The British Government needs to make a new alliance in Ireland - an alliance with democracy. The elections should now be rescheduled without delay.'' Mr. Adams said:
``The British Government has created a deep crisis in the political process. The cancellation of the Assembly elections scheduled for today creates a dangerous political vacuum which those who are opponents of the Agreement will attempt to fill.The British Government has:
- Unilaterally suspended the democratic institutions established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
- Publicly accepted that, five years on, it has failed to fully implement its commitments under the terms of the Agreement.
- Cancelled the Assembly elections indefinitely
- Ignored the Irish government's status as joint and co-equal partner in the Agreement. Irish government opposition to unilateral British decisions have been ignored.
``The Assembly derives from the Good Friday Agreement. That Agreement was endorsed by the Irish people. This democratic decision of the electorate must have primacy. The British government has no right to over-ride this democratic authority. The British government has no right to cancel elections in Ireland.
``The Irish government opposed the cancellation of the elections. Indeed, every political party in Ireland opposed it. Only UUP leader David Trimble and the British government supported this undemocratic action.
``The cancellation of elections is a subversion of democracy.
``The cancellation of the elections creates a dangerous political vacuum.
``The process of conflict resolution in Ireland, as elsewhere, is premised on the creation of a viable political, democratic and peaceful alternative to war. In short it is about making politics work.
``The British and Irish governments accepted this logic in their recently published Joint Declaration when they said, `The best way of ensuring that peace remains permanent is by demonstrating that politics work.'
``How then does cancelling democratic elections demonstrate, in any way, that politics work?
``No party should have a veto over fundamental rights, equality or parity of esteem It is critical that politics is allowed to work.
``Today, Sinn Fein is encouraging people all over the island of Ireland to demonstrate their opposition to the undemocratic actions of the British government, to demand their rights and to give the British government a clear message- the elections must go ahead. The British Government needs to make a new alliance in Ireland - an alliance with democracy. The elections should now be rescheduled without delay.''
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