Sinn Féin has set out a number of principles designed to help it engage withall sections of the unionist community in Northern Ireland, a veteran member ofthe party revealed today.
After a meeting of the party's north-west representatives in Derry,former Foyle Assembly member Ms Mary Nelis said their members were committed to"equality, reconciliation, fair play, openness and inclusivity" in theirdealings with unionists.
She insisted: "These principles are more than simply words."Achieving elected office is not enough. It is about what we do when we getthere.
"Sinn Féin will seek to use elected office to advance the work already beingdone to bring different and diverse sections of our community closertogether."
The most recent collapse of the institutions came last October following allegation of an IRA spyring at Stormont, with Northern Ireland's politicians yet to restoredevolution.
Ms Nelis said there had been much focus on her party's "outreach work withunionism" in recent weeks, with Sinn Féin's former Belfast Lord Mayor, AlexMaskey, appointed to head up that project.
"The work initiated by him will be continued in Councils across the Norththat have Sinn Féin mayors and chairpersons," she said.
"Of course all of our councillors and activists will promote and develop thiswork.
"But reaching out to unionism is a two-way street. Unionism has a journey tomake also. Unionism must accept that there is no going back to the days ofinequality and second class citizenship.
PA