Speaking at an Easter Commemoration in Ardoyne, North Belfast thisafternoon Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MPsaid:
"Sinn Féin is certainly committed to making this process work. Sotoo, in my opinion, is the IRA. It has demonstrated its support for theprocess on many occasions. That is why I say that a deal is now do-ableif there is the political will and if the dealmakers are prepared to moveforward now.
It is our view, and we have stated itoften, that all statements should be published and that all commitmentscontained in them should be implemented.
There has been an understandable public focus on the efforts to restartthe political process and the failure so far to achieve this.
In the flurry of words, of claim and counter-claim, one thing has becomeobscured. That is that the issues which are the core of the Good FridayAgreement are the rights and entitlements of citizens.
Of course the political institutions cannot function unless the politicalparties are committed to them. But all the other issues, in particular theissues of equality - equality of opportunity and parity of esteem - arebasic and fundamental rights to which there can be no pre-conditions orcaveats.
The acknowledgement by the two governments that they have yet fulfil theGood Friday Agreement is at the heart of the current negotiations. Bothgovernments admitted this failure and committed themselves to fullyimplement outstanding aspects of the Agreement.
As the Taoiseach said on Sunday, 'They impact on all the key areas -policing, criminal justice, security normalisation, (or demilitarisationas we would put it), and the entrenchment of human rights and equality atthe heart of the new dispensation.'
The governments were to publish a Joint Declaration. In negotiations withthem going back to last autumn Sinn Féin made it clear that we wanted tosee time-framed implementation plans which in a transparent way set out aprogramme for the completion of the Agreement.
In their Joint Declaration the governments also made certain demands ofthe IRA. Now we are told that the governments will only publish theirproposals when they are satisfied with the IRAs response to them.
Our party leadership has worked with a will to bring about mutuallysatisfactory closure to this phase of negotiations. It is our view, and wehave stated it often, that all statements should be published and that allcommitments contained in them should be implemented. The governments sayNo. At least at this time.
But if they refuse to publish their proposals what will be achieved?Are we being told that people rights and entitlements will bewithheld?
Are we being told that the outstanding aspects of the Agreement whichimpact 'on all the key areas - policing, criminal justice, securitynormalisation, (or demilitarisation as we would put it), and theentrenchment of human rights and equality at the heart of the newdispensation.' are not going to be implemented?
We are told that the problem lies in a lack of clarity in the IRAstatement which is in possession of the two governments. There is no lackof clarity in this statement. Maybe the problem is that it does not usethe exact words prescribed by the British government. But the statement isvery clear about IRA intentions. It has also been welcomed by bothgovernments as being positive and showing a desire to make the peaceprocess work.
Such an IRA statement and such a response from the twogovernments would have been unthinkable a decade ago. It therefore defieslogic that the governments appear to be rejecting this development and thepotential it contains.
There has to be common sense in these matters.
No one expects that P O Neill should write the Joint Declaration for thetwo governments. Alistair Campbell, the British Prime Minister's senior PRperson, would not expect or be expected to act as spokesperson for theIRA.
If the problem at the moment is genuinely about the need to restoreconfidence in the process then in my view there is enough in all of thestatements and commitments contained in them to do this. In other wordsthere is the makings of a deal. What are needed now are dealmakers.This brings us to the unionists. Do they want a deal at this time? Arethere dealmakers in the UUP leadership?
If there is a political will, this process can be brought forward at thistime, building on the progress made and creating both stability andconfidence as we collectively fulfil our responsibilities.
This needs everyone. The two governments the Ulster Unionist Party and us,and the other parties working together.
I know there is a lot of unease within the republican constituency,especially within the activist constituency. There is also a lot of angerat the way in which the process has been manipulated. But this is a timefor steady nerves and cool heads.
Here in the republican heartland of Ardoyne, in the hinterland of northBelfast you don't need to be told about the rights and wrongs of thesituation. You didn't need a Stevens Report to tell you there iscollusion. You experienced it at first hand.
In north Belfast there has been what amounts to a continuous pogromagainst beleaguered nationalist communities.
Hundreds of families and homes have been attacked. Primary school girlsand their parents endured months of sectarian abuse and physical attackgoing and coming from school.
Catholics were killed by unionist paramilitary murder gangs and some youngprotestant people were killed in the mistaken belief that they wereCatholics.
There has also been provocation by the British Crown Forces, and the PSNI.So no one needs peace more than the people of areas like this.No one needs equality; no one needs their rights, more than you do. And noone has been more resilient or determined or tenacious in struggling forthese rights than people like yourselves. And when we say equality wemean equality for all.
Republicans are absolutely clear about that.We do not want to visit upon unionists what their old regime or successiveBritish governments inflicted upon us.
The spirit and the letter of the 1916 Proclamation is about cherishing allthe children of the nation equally.
That means change, real change, in the same way that real peace demandsjustice.
That is why in the time ahead there will be a need for continueddiscipline within The republican constituency especially in areas likethis which are on the frontline and which are targeted on an ongoing basisby reactionary elements who are afraid of change.
They may seize upon this impasse in the process. They may be moreprovocative in the time ahead in their efforts to wreck the vehicle ofchange. They want to destroy it and their tools are bigotry andsectarianism.
They need to be starved of anything that would feed into their effortsThat means that Irish republicans need a deep well of patience. We have toshow by our words and our actions, or non- actions - that we can advanceour struggle in the time ahead.
Republicanism is a generous philosophy.The bigots, securocrats, the unionist paramilitaries and their handlersare about trying to wreck this process.
The unionist leaderships seem to be fixated with slowing down andfrustrating change. Who can blame them if the governments are holdingback on measures which they admit are needed to fully implementoutstanding aspects of the Agreement. The failure to move now encouragesthose who want to stop all progress.
They will not and they cannot succeed. Of course they can delay progress.But they cannot stop it. But they should not be pandered to. Sinn Féin iscertainly committed to making this process work.
So to in my opinion isthe IRA, it has demonstrated its support for the process on manyoccasions. That is why I say that a deal is now do-able if there is thepolitical will and if the dealmakers are prepared to move forward now.
Only the two governments have the answer to that question.For our part SF remains wedded to our objectives. In the short to mediumterm that means being part of the process of change. At times indeed weare the engine for change.
The 1916 Proclamation is our core manifesto. We want a new republic onthis island.