Nationalists must stand strong for a united Ireland which is free from the grip of fear exercised by paramilitaries, SDLP deputy leader Dr Alastair McDonnell said tonight.
At a seminar on nationalism organised by his party and attended by Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny in Belfast, Dr McDonnell said he believed a united Ireland could be achieved but it had to be routed firmly in the Belfast Agreement.
The South Belfast Assembly member said following the recent focus on republican links with criminality, it was appropriate that nationalists focused on the kind of country they wanted for the future.
"At this time nationalist Ireland needs to address the direction of our country and affirm our commitments to the principles of peace, democracy and justice for all. "Democratic Ireland must stand strong for those values and stand strong by those who seek to oppose them.
"We must make it clear that we do not want - and will not accept - an Ireland where people are forced to live in the grip of fear from paramilitaries, where crime isn't crime because of who commits it, where we're all supposed to be equal but where some people are more equal than others.
"We must stand strong for an Ireland where our people and our communities can live free from fear, where no one is above the law or gets away with acting as if they are the law, where every person is guaranteed justice, where people can not only live their own lives and fulfil their own potential but are allowed to live to see their children fulfil theirs as well. "We must stand strong for a real Ireland of equals."
The SDLP deputy leader said it was important that the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin was reconvened after a break of two years to deliver the message that the people of Ireland wanted the Good Friday Agreement implemented, the political institutions restored and an end to all paramilitary and criminal activity.
The Forum involved parties from north and south and included Sinn Fein but was not attended by unionists. Dr McDonnell said the body, if it was reconvened, would allow parties to agree on the outstanding business of Irish unity and consent. The SDLP, he said, had a clear vision for a united Ireland which was 100 per cent for unity and 100 per cent for the Good Friday Agreement. "I believe a united Ireland can be attained," he said.