EQUALITY IS THE BOTTOM LINE - ADAMS

In a key statement at the weeekend, Sinn Fein President Gerry
Adams has demanded that the British government finally recognise
the rights of northern nationalists under the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement, and attacked efforts by Ulster Unionist leader David
Trimble and others to undermine the Agreement with efforts to
deflect public attention onto an inactive IRA.

The continuing suspension by London of the new power-sharing
political institutions in the North of Ireland -- in the face of
looming elections on May 1 -- has threatened to throw the peace
process into its gravest ever crisis. Meanwhile, red-herring
news reports have been published to suggest the possibility of an
IRA surrender or other moves never envisaged as part of the peace
process.

David Trimble predicted on Saturday that he would not return to
power-sharing by May.

"I don't think this is the big moment," he said. "The climate
isn't right. The republicans are nowhere near the ball park. They
may think that if they go right down to the point where the
balloon is about to go up in Iraq, Blair will get desperate. I
don't believe they are preparing to make the big move that is
necessary at this point."

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP, speaking at a meeting of
party activists from across the Six Counties in Belfast on
Saturday, has sought to inject some reality into the public
debate in advance of key talks in Belfast involving the Irish and
British Prime Ministers.

Mr Adams told the meeting that the latest crisis had come about
because of "resistance to change", and that four months since the
institutions were suspended, there had been no sign so far that
the British government were willing to move effectively to deal
with the situation.

"The current crisis in the peace process is not about the IRA. It
is about resistance to change and the growth of Sinn Fein as an
engine for change. It is about delaying the equality agenda. It
is about the growth of republicanism across this island."

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The following is the full text of Mr Adams' comments.
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Sinn Fein has been at the heart of the peace process, of the
negotiations and the Good Friday Agreement, and at the heart of
the changes which have resulted from all of this.

We continue to drive the process of change. We are committed to
achieving the new beginning which was agreed on Good Friday 1998.

We want our rights, including national rights and Sinn Fein is
not prepared to settle for anything less than these.

There is a lot of speculation about what is happening within
unionism but one thing is clear Mr. Trimble's approach has not
changed over the last 5 years.

Over the last five years on several occasions he has sought to
have Sinn Fein expelled from the Executive. He has not been
successful.

But what he did succeed in doing was to get the British
government to act outside the terms of the Agreement and to
unilaterally introduce suspension legislation. It is apparent
that the British government are pursuing a strategy whereby the
survival of David Trimble as leader of the UUP is more important
than the survival of the Agreement itself.

And Mr. Trimble has successfully exploited this willingness on
the part of London. This approach has been aided by other
elements of the British system who are still waging war against
republicans.

In the almost 5 years since Good Friday 1998 the political
institutions, in a clear breach of the agreement, have been
functioning for less than half of that time. On 4 separate
occasions, at the behest of the UUP leadership, the British
Government has, suspended them.

Of course, Mr Trimble has to deal with the reality of the
anti-Agreement faction in his own party and the anti-Agreement
DUP who are electorally snapping at his heels.

But for many nationalists and republicans there is a serious
question mark over whether Mr. Trimble is willing or able to
lead Unionism in support of the Good Friday Agreement.

What is clear is that resistance to change has created yet
another crisis in the process. And four months into this crisis
there is no sign so far that the British government are willing
to move effectively to deal with this.

Accordingly we have seen much speculation in the media about a
possible move by the IRA.

Let's put all of this into some sort of perspective. In the
negotiations Sinn Fein are seeking the full implementation of the
Good Friday Agreement as agreed by the British government and the
unionists.

The British government and the unionists for their part are
seeking more than was agreed, while at the same time they have
not honoured the commitments they entered into.

For instance, there is not a new beginning to policing. And let
me be clear again about this. Sinn Fein is not prepared to
endorse the current policing format on SDLP terms. We continue to
seek the new beginning outlined in the Good Friday Agreement.

We do not have equality or the observance of human rights.

We do not have a just or fair criminal justice system. We do not
have demilitarisation. People are not living free from sectarian
harassment and attack. We do not have Irish language rights.

The reality as Mr Blair acknowledges is that the agreement has
not been implemented. And the political institutions are
suspended. Again.

Political unionism continues to oppose change and seek to
undermine the agreement.

British securocrats continue to target republicans.

While Loyalist death squads wage war on the catholic community
and each other and their actions temporarily fill our TV screens,
the focus continues to be on the Irish Republican Army. Is this
the climate for a significant move by the IRA? I hardly think so.
Does any one think there will be movement unless everyone moves?
Unless the British government honours its obligations?

The current crisis in the peace process is not about the IRA. Of
course the existence of the IRA is an affront to its enemies. But
this process is about changing all that in a way which will bring
an end to all the armed groups. Can that be achieved by ganging
up on republicans? Or making movement towards basic rights
conditional on movement by the IRA? Or by punishing Sinn Fein
voters and other citizens if the IRA doesn't comply with unionist
demands.

The underlying problems in the process and the current crisis is
about resistance to change and the role of Sinn Fein as an engine
for that change. It is about trying to delay the equality
agenda. It is about the growth of republicanism across this
island.

That is why the unionists are boycotting the negotiations. That
is why we have the British securocrats making strenuous efforts
to wreck the situation through leaking spurious stories to the
media.

That is why the UUP is lobbying for a postponement of the May
elections. That is why new electoral legislation was brought in
to deal with the registration of voters here. This legislation
has wiped tens of thousands of voters from the register. Every
political party is affected by this, but the areas and people
most affected are those where Sinn Fein is strongest.
Nationalist, working class and young voters have been
particularly disenfranchised.This is an issue of democratic
rights. Every political party should be concerned about the fact
that people are being disenfranchised. It is my very firm view
that the motivation behind this legislation is designed to limit
Sinn Fein's growth as a political party.

The focus for us must be to thwart the efforts to prevent the
process of change. We must continue to build our political
strength, and to defend the Good Friday Agreement.

Our party will not dodge our responsibilities in the times ahead.
There is no way forward except through negotiations. We are
agents of change and our commitment is to play a full role in
meeting every challenge in the time ahead.