McGuinness: British rule failed in Northern Ireland; Government must set date for peace talks
On a five-day American tour in September 1995, Sinn Féin's chief negotiator told a Philadelphia audience that decommissioning was a British obstacle to all-party talks.
As printed in the Celtic Mirror, September 1995
PHILADELPHIA - The British government must make a "quantum leap" from the political mind-set established throughout the years by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher if the peace talks in Northern Ireland are to succeed, said Martin McGuinness, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator with the British government and key figure in the Irish Peace Process.
McGuinness was in the United States on a five-day fund-raising and speaking engagement tour.
During a press conference prior to a community event at the Irish Center here, sponsored by Irish Northern Aid and Clan na Gael, McGuinness expressed his appreciation to the American Irish community for its support of Sinn Fein and for all their support through what he called "25 years of hell in Northern Ireland."
He said this is a crucial time in the peace process and that it was "very encouraging" to know that President Bill Clinton placed emphasis on the need for the peace process to begin.
"The tide of opinion is moving against the British Government," McGuinness said Sunday, because of its refusal to set a date for all-party peace talks.
"We have been ready, willing and able to begin," McGuinness said.
He accused the British of setting obstacles in the way of Sinn Fein's efforts to begin the peace talks and said "decommissioning of arms" is a British phrase.
"There has never been an incidence where one side is unilaterally required to surrender its arms before peace talks can begin," he said.
McGuinness said in four years of negotiating with the British government, the word "decommission" was never mentioned.
He said the British government is reneging on its intention to begin peace talks by bringing in innocuous terms like "symbolic gesture," when speaking about the surrendering of the weapons.
"The IRA would be a laughing stock if they did this," he said.
McGuinness said Sinn Fein had no influence over the decision to cancel a peace summit on Sept. 6.
"That's strictly between the British and the Dublin governments. We made our position quite clear. There was an expectation among everybody that all-party talks must begin and that the British government needs to stop delaying the peace process," he said.
McGuinness said the establishment of an international commission would be a mistake.
"The British government only intends to use the establishment of an international commission to force the surrender of the Irish Republican Army.
"Sinn Fein believes that's a mistaken way to move forward. That what we have to do is recognize that the peace process has to take all the guns out of Irish politics.
"That includes the guns of the British Army, and the Death Squads, many (guns) of which were provided to them by the British Intelligence," he said.
Although the cease-fire in Northern Ireland has lasted a year, McGuinness said the human rights violations continue.
"Since the cease-fire, the British government has only removed 800 soldiers. There are still 29,200 soldiers on the streets and are very evident in many parts of the six counties.
"They have fired approximately 300 plastic bullets [...]
"So, of course, all that has to be tackled. There has to be a complete demilitarization of our society," he said.
Discrimination in hiring practices in Northern Ireland is also continuing, McGuinness said.
"We believe that the nature of the make-up of the state of Northern Ireland as a British colony has been an unfair and unjust one since its foundation in the early 1920s.
"The community which we represent has never known justice as a result of the British excessive policies of the British government and various Unionist administrations.
"So, there will be no dramatic change in the living circumstances of the Nationalist community until such times as we can negotiate a comprehensive political settlement which needs to be by fundamental political constitutional change.
"Because, quite clearly, British rule in Northern Ireland has been a failure. It has failed us all.
"It has failed the Irish people, failed the unionists and as a result, has failed the British people as well."
McGuinness said the whole of the peace process in Northern Ireland now lies in the hands of the British government.
"I feel that if the British government doesn't [...] all-party talks, we will go into an ever-deepening crisis," he said.
Helen LeRoy of Philadelphia contributed to this article.
After the Philadelphia trip
Two words in this story are marked [...] because the archived page itself was damaged at those points. We have left the gaps rather than guess.
McGuinness's warning of an "ever-deepening crisis" came true within five months. The British and Irish governments announced a twin-track approach on November 28, 1995, and George Mitchell's international body reported in January 1996 that decommissioning should happen during all-party talks rather than before them. It was not enough. On February 9, 1996, the IRA ended its ceasefire and bombed South Quay in London's Docklands, killing two men. All-party talks opened at Stormont that June without Sinn Féin.
The international commission he called a mistake came anyway, and outlived the argument. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning was set up in August 1997 under the Canadian general John de Chastelain. By then the IRA had restored its ceasefire, from noon on July 20, 1997, and on September 9 Sinn Féin signed up to the Mitchell Principles and entered the talks. The Good Friday Agreement followed on April 10, 1998. The commission reported in September 2005 that IRA decommissioning was complete.
McGuinness's own record after 1995 is well documented. He won the Mid Ulster seat at Westminster in May 1997, served as Northern Ireland's education minister from 1999 to 2002, and became deputy First Minister in May 2007, a post he held for almost ten years. He resigned on January 9, 2017, in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. In between he ran for President of Ireland in 2011 and finished third with 243,030 first-preference votes. He died in Derry on March 21, 2017, aged 66.
Questions readers ask
When did the IRA ceasefire end in 1996?
The IRA announced the end of its August 1994 ceasefire on February 9, 1996, shortly before a lorry bomb exploded at South Quay in London's Docklands, killing two men and causing damage estimated at £150 million. The ceasefire was restored from noon on July 20, 1997, which opened the way for Sinn Féin to enter talks that September.
When was IRA decommissioning completed?
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, chaired by the Canadian general John de Chastelain, reported on September 26, 2005, that the IRA had put its weapons beyond use. The commission had been created by the British and Irish governments in August 1997 under legislation passed in both jurisdictions that year.
What positions did Martin McGuinness hold?
Martin McGuinness was Sinn Féin's chief negotiator in the 1990s, MP for Mid Ulster from 1997 to early 2013, Northern Ireland education minister from 1999 to 2002, and deputy First Minister from May 2007 until January 2017. He ran for President of Ireland in 2011 and finished third with 243,030 first-preference votes.
How did Martin McGuinness die?
McGuinness died in Derry on March 21, 2017, aged 66, weeks after retiring from frontline politics. He was reported to have had amyloidosis, a rare disease affecting the internal organs. Two months before his death he had resigned as deputy First Minister in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal.
