THE Hillsborough declaration is only "a vague proposal" and Sinn Fein was not involved in negotiating or agreeing to it, a senior party member, Mr Gerry Kelly, has said.
"If it is, or it becomes a demand for decommissioning under another name, then it is doomed to failure. Sinn Fein has made it clear that it cannot deliver an IRA surrender of arms," Mr Kelly said at an Easter commemoration in Sligo yesterday.
He wanted to make it clear that the declaration, which was agreed between the two governments last Thursday and which suggested "an act of reconciliation" and that some arms be put "beyond use" on a voluntary basis, was a proposal in draft form.
"Sinn Fein was not involved in negotiating it nor in agreeing to it. I understand that unionism has not signed up to it either. It has no status other than a proposal - and a vague one at that," said Mr Kelly, an Assembly member and former IRA bomber.
Sinn Fein had gone to Hillsborough Castle last week with "frustration and impatience" because deadlines had not been met, and the executive, the North-South council and all-Ireland implementation bodies had not been established. "Only the institution favoured by unionism is set up, that is the Assembly."
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Kelly said that on April 13th Sinn Fein would go back to talks "within the parameters of the Good Friday Agreement". He said the agreement was "a contract between enemies" and this was why Sinn Fein argued so fiercely for the letter of the agreement to be observed. There were unpalatable things in it for both unionists and republicans, he said.
When asked if he believed a token gesture could be made, he said: "The point is, if it is within the Good Friday Agreement, then we are prepared to talk about it." He said there would have been no point in all the parties and the two governments signing up to the agreement if they were going to step outside it a year later.
"The IRA speaks about weapons. I do not speak about weapons," Mr Kelly said. Sinn Fein had adhered to every commitment it had given to use whatever influence it had to secure disarmament and it would continue to do so, he added.
Mr Kelly said he was not worried about a split in the republican movement. "I think republicans have the sense to know that we gave a commitment. We had to bring ourselves and republicanism through a lot of turmoil to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement. It was hard to do, but we have done it, and by and large stayed united. We have lost people of course, and that is the danger in all these things, but you have to do what you think is right."
Some 70 people walked through Sligo yesterday behind a lone piper and a republican colour party to the cemetery where Mr Kelly gave his address and an Easter statement from the republican leadership was read. Mr Kelly urged those present to work hard to help Mr Joe McManus's European election campaign as the party had to build its political strength throughout the whole of Ireland.