THE Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said yesterday Catholics were justified in boycotting Protestant business people who participated in Drumcree or appeared at Orange blockades during the protest.
Catholics had the right to use their economic power in a legitimate way, such as a boycott, if they felt they had been affected by Drumcree or intimidated by the road blockades created throughout the North during the Drumcree crisis, Mr Adams said yesterday.
"It is a very legitimate, peaceful and democratic tactic," he added. Sinn Fein, however, was opposed to any boycott motivated by sectarianism or indiscriminately applied to Protestants not involved in Drumcree or the subsequent Orange protests.
People who opposed the boycott should consider how they would react if they were prevented from going to work by a businessman, and were then expected to support that person's business.
"Some people quite legitimately said to Orange business people that you can't expect to treat me as you did over July and August and then expect me to come to your business and put money in your till."
Mr Adams said nationalists were still dealing with the political consequences of Drumcree. "These events have not yet been resolved to the satisfaction of the nationalist people. The British government and the unionist parties cannot expect a `business as usual' approach to the current situation."
"If the peace process is to be restored we need a clear, decisive political talks process whose primary objective is a negotiated settlement. That means inclusive dialogue with no preconditions, and structured within a realistic timeframe. It also means the British government actively seeking to build confidence," Mr Adams added.
He said an acceptable timeframe could be six to nine months, or longer if necessary.
He described the Rev William McCrea's attendance at the Portadown rally for dissident loyalist Mr Billy Wright as a disgrace.
