Adams Speech
This is an edited version of the party leader's speech delivered by Mr Gerry Adams to the Sinn Féin ardfheis at the RDS in Dublin on Saturday:
This is the ardfheis of the only all-Ireland political party on this island.
Nowhere was this more in evidence than the sight of republicans, from all over Ireland, working together since our last ardfheis to achieve the incredible breakthrough in the Leinster House elections.
The work of the TDs and their team since 2002 shows that our party is a force to be reckoned with. But there is much more to be done by all of us. That includes increasing the size of our team and sending republican women into the chamber at Leinster House.
Last year the absence of a clear or credible alternative government, the collapse and the defection of a significant section of the Fine Gael vote to Fianna Fáil and the lavish promises made by the coalition partners, ensured the re-election of the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrat government.
But it was a very different story afterwards. Never have people become so disillusioned, so disappointed and so enraged by a government, so quickly by a new government. Little wonder! Before the general election the people were told that there would be no cutbacks. But even before polling day the cutbacks were prepared.
What kind of economy is it where even people earning above the average industrial wage cannot afford a decent home? Where the local housing authority lists grow longer by the day.
The boom of the 1990s showed that we have the resources to create a just society across the whole island but there has been no real strategic planning, no proper regional development, no rural regeneration.
The last decade was one in which resources were squandered through tax giveaways to the wealthy and privileged, through corruption, and through policies and spending that failed to plan for long-term investment and development.
How is this to be changed? A political party can mobilise, organise and represent and Sinn Féin is doing all these things. But it is the people who must bring about change.
Nothing can turn back the tide of change when enough people in our country decide to sweep away the old failed policies of the past.
The Good Friday agreement has been correctly seen as an instrument of change, real change in real ways in people's lives.
For that reason, nationalists and republicans and thoughtful unionists support it. For that reason, rejectionist unionists and the British establishment oppose it.
They understand that the Good Friday agreement is essentially about establishing a level playing field.
They fear that the achievement of equality of treatment, and the emergence of a new inclusive society in Ireland, will leave much of Irish or Ulster Unionism without any rational basis and erode the very reason for the existence of the union and the British jurisdiction in Ireland.
Unionist leaders know this. So do British unionists, those in the British establishment and the London government.
That is why it is so difficult to get them to implement the changes that constitute the Good Friday agreement.
But the rights and entitlements of citizens, regardless of creed, colour, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability or political opinion, is non-negotiable.
Sinn Féin is now the largest nationalist party in the north.
Far from being outshone by others, our ministers in the Executive were efficient, modernising, reforming.
And as we have seen, the growth of Sinn Féin hasn't been confined to the six counties. We are recognised as a campaigning party and Sinn Féin is seen by an increasing section of the electorate to be the engine of the peace process.
Ten years ago it was all very different. Ten years ago there was no peace process. Ten years ago this party was a demonised organisation in transition sowing the seeds of our peace strategy to a censored media, pioneering delicate and difficult talks in a society which was polarised by the relentless cycle of ongoing injustice and violence.
Ten years ago we were told that peace was impossible in Ireland and that Irish unity was a pipe dream. Ten years is a long time in politics.
Despite the many ups and downs, we have seen what is possible.
Across the North, life is better for the vast majority of people.
In saying that I am very conscious of families who have been bereaved, particularly as a result of sectarianism. I am also mindful of the family of a young IRA volunteer, Keith Rogers, who was killed in unprecedented circumstances earlier this month.
I am very conscious that for some people conditions have become worse. Our representatives stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We know the real terror faced by beleaguered families and communities in interface areas in Belfast, in Larne, in south Antrim and elsewhere. And we extend solidarity to them.
All of which brings us to the current difficulties.
I am not going to engage in the blame game in this speech and I want to acknowledge in a very clear way that the difficulties within unionism have been severely exacerbated by the ongoing focus on alleged IRA activities. And of course, on the republican and nationalist side there is anger, frustration and annoyance because there is little focus on the ongoing activities of unionist paramilitaries or the actions of the British forces.
Should we give up hope in the process? No.
But we have to face up to the reality that the British government holds the survival of David Trimble and the ascendancy of the UUP within unionism as priority objectives.
This might be a fair enough tactical approach if the dynamic was not being drained out of the process; if Mr Trimble was fighting his corner and promoting the agreement; and if the changes for which the British government has direct responsibility were proceeding regardless. But this is not the case.
The Good Friday agreement is an international treaty between the Irish and British governments. The British government has no right to act unilaterally and it needs to be told this again and again.
In particular Irish citizens, victimised and targeted by sectarian violence, have a right to expect effective political protection from the government in Dublin. And all sections of the electorate have the right to expect that the Irish government will uphold their rights in the terms of the Good Friday agreement, instead of stepping outside that agreement to bring in sanctions.
Tomorrow our chief negotiator Martin McGuinness will give a more detailed report on the current negotiations, but for now I want to make a few specific remarks on the highly sensitive and emotive issue of policing in the north. Let me state clearly that no decision to support the current policing proposition has been considered by the outgoing ardchomhairle. Such a decision will only be taken by a specially convened ardfheis.
And we are not yet in a position to contemplate convening this. If we do so, it is my intention that a position paper would go to all levels of the party for discussion - that is the party membership as a whole, and that there would be a comprehensive debate leading up to the special ardfheis.
We have made policing, and the related issue of criminal justice, a new arena of struggle for republicans and nationalists.
In that context, while building towards national independence, our objective in the interim is to depoliticise policing in the North. That means removing policing as a pillar of unionist power and preventing it from ever again being used by any section of society as an oppressive paramilitary force.
We are arguing for the Good Friday agreement vision of policing to become a reality.
The people we represent are law abiding. They have a right to be policed by public servants who act on their behalf.
Violence in their homes against the elderly, anti-social behaviour, car crime, the scourge of drugs, violence against women and against children, random violence on our streets is intolerable and unacceptable. The threat to the most vulnerable in our society from criminal elements has to be tackled. That's why we have to get policing right.
Can I see a time when it would be appropriate for Sinn Féin to join the Policing Board, and participate fully in the policing arrangements on a democratic basis? The answer is yes.
Are we at that point now? The answer is no, not yet.
The issues at the core of the Good Friday agreement are not concessions. They are rights and entitlements. They are also not yet a reality. And until they become a reality and until the agreement is fully implemented, Sinn Féin will continue to negotiate and campaign for this.
While I believe that the majority of unionists want to embrace change, it is clear that their political leaders do not want the Good Friday agreement to be implemented. That seems to be the Ulster Unionist Party's current position. Ian Paisley has always been clear about this. It appears that the demands of unionism are insatiable. They are also not deliverable.
The challenge for Mr Blair is profound. He and the Taoiseach have made an exceptional contribution to the search for peace.
He understands as well as I do that this is a process and that all of us need to see beyond the difficulties of the moment.
I believe Mr Blair should also see that Britain's strategic interests are best served by the democratic resolution of the long-standing quarrel between the people of these two islands.
Our strategy, and Mr Trimble knows this, is about bringing an end to physical force republicanism, by creating an alternative way to achieve democratic and republican objectives.
Sinn Féin is not the IRA but we have used our influence, as every party to the agreement is obliged to, in order to advance the objectives of the agreement.
This party is not accountable for the IRA and I will not accept that we or our electorate can be punished or sanctioned for alleged IRA behaviour, but I do have to say that I believe that the IRA is serious and genuine about its support for a peace process.
I want to see an end to all of the armed groups on this island. That has to be the aim of every thinking republican.
So can I envisage a future without the IRA? The answer is obvious. The answer is yes.
Sinn Féin is about making peace. About working with others to make this a reality for everyone. There is no other way forward.
The \ elections give the electorate yet another opportunity to reinvest in the peace process and in the republican vision. Despite the shredding of the electoral register, this contest gives Sinn Féin the opportunity to increase our political strength and to continue to build for the future.
We are living through a time of great hope, great risk and great opportunity. No one ever said that any of this was going to be easy. Freedom never comes easily. All history teaches us that. But all history also teaches us that the determined movement of people organised, and resolutely demanding their rights will win through. That is what we have to do. That is what we will do. There is no way back. There is only one way - and that is forward.