DATE=10/21/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=GERRY ADAMS - NEW YORK (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255342
BYLINE=BARBARA SCHOETZAU
DATELINE=NEW YORK
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In New York today (Thursday),Gerry Adams, the
leader of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish
Republican Army, said there is still a small chance
the stalled 1998 Northern Ireland peace agreement will
be implemented. Correspondent Barbara Schoetzau
reports.
TEXT: Mr. Adams says there is a very small
possibility that the deadlock over the so-called "Good
Friday" peace agreement can be resolved if the two
major parties to the accord -- Sinn Fein and the
loyalist Ulster Unionist Party -- stretch themselves
further than either side thinks possible at the
moment.
The broker of the 1998 peace agreement, former U-S
Senator George Mitchell, is currently reviewing the
agreement and points of contention. He is expected to
issue a judgment soon about whether or not the deal
can be salvaged. The Ulster Unionists' demand that
the Irish Republican Army turn in all of its weapons
by May of 2000 has become the chief sticking point in
the implementation of the accord. But Mr. Adams says
he believes political will is the key to dealing with
the issue, together with help from the retired
Canadian general who is heading Northern Ireland's
disarmament commission.
/// ADAMS ACT ///
We sort it out the way that we decided on Good
Friday. We sort it out by the implementation of
those aspects of the agreement which are under
the control and under the command of the
politicians. And we let General de Chastelain
sort out the decommissioning. And we use our
influence to get the armed organizations to do
whatever can be done on this matter to relieve
the deadlock which has been there for a very
long time.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Adams says he thinks fear of change is the real
problem causing the delay, not decommissioning. But he
says the peace process has brought about a tremendous
change in the relationship between the various parties
in Northern Ireland. And he says he has come to both
like and respect the Unionist leadership.
Mr. Adams spoke to the National Committee on American
Foreign Policy, a private U-S group that has been
influential in the peace process, during a 24-hour
visit to New York. (Signed)
NEB/BJS/LSF/TVM/PT
21-Oct-1999 16:52 PM EDT (21-Oct-1999 2052 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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