Adams Calls for One Ireland

In an impassioned speech last night at the Institute of Politics, Gerry Adams--the president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA)--called for immediate negotiations to unite the two halves of Ireland as an independent nation.

Adams, whose appearance was marked by tight security measures and a limited audience, also criticized the British for not moving to begin talks during t government to guarantee Irish independence.

"London and Ireland need to join in an adventure, in a project, to move the situation now," he said. "The project must be very difficult, it will certainly be challenging, but there is no excuse for not talking now.

"It has worked in the Middle East, and it has worked in South Africa," Adams said.

"As we approach a new century, we should not just step on the threshold for a new era, but really create a new era."

Adams said he has no other goals beyond negotiating for an independent Irish government.

"There should be no predetermined outcome. I believe the people of Ireland have the intelligence to govern ourselves," he said.

"We need to engage, we need to get an agreement, and we need to get rid of the British jurisdiction to replace it with some sort of Irish jurisdiction."

The British government claims negotiations are blocked because of the ambiguity surrounding the "permanence" of the cease-fire.

But Adams said London is stioll resorting to tactical maneuvers to avoid negotiating with the IRA in peacetime.

"The British government has reduced it to a game of semantics. It isn't a game of Scrabble," he said. "If I said, 'Yes, the cease-fire is permanent,' London would have asked, 'Yes, but is it complete?'"

There have been a few terrorist attacks since the cease-fire, attacks for which the IRA claims no responsibility.

The IRA has completely ceased any military operations in the last month, Adams said.

The British government still has more than 30,000 troops on active service and is blocking 250 border crossings between northern and southern Ireland, according to Adams.

In the last month, both Sinn Fein's offices and press center have been bombed, and the home of one of its counselors has also been under attack.

"We are the only faction that has ceased military operations. The other two main groups, the British army and the Loyalists, must demilitarize," Adams said. "Both are under the direct control or influence of the British government."

Adams said he wants any new Irish government to reflect the diversity of the country's citizens, regardless of their religious backgrounds.

"We'd like to tell our kin in the north that there is no problem. The notion should be of a pluralistic, inclusive society," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Let's move forward, from the past into the future."

In defense of the often violent tactics of the IRA, Adams quoted President John F. Kennedy '40 and reminded his audience of the United States' historically stalwart defense of the rights of the individual.

"The desire to be free of foreign rule, the desire for self-determination, is the most powerful force in the modern world. It is that desire that has maintained the struggle in my country," Adams said.

"The right to silence, freedom of speech, the right to a jury, the right even to an education in the language of Irish--all of these are denied us by the British government. We are in a state of permanent emergency."