			 Irish Voice
                   No Place to Hide for Unionists
                  by Gerry Adams MP, President of Sinn Fin
18 September 97 
When will David Trimble and his Ulster Unionists stop 
grandstanding and get serious about the business of 
peace? Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams writes here 
about his party's desire for an inclusive process. 

IT was an historic week. There is no doubt about that. 
A week of historic days. But still, for all the history 
that we are making, we have yet to begin the talking 
which is required if we are to make the peace. That is 
because the Unionists have still to make their way into 
the negotiations with the rest of us. 

There are two sides to that. On the one hand, all the 
parties in the negotiating room, including the two 
governments, share a common objective of getting the 
Unionists in. On the other hand, there is considerable 
difference about the best way to achieve this. 

One view is that David Trimble has nowhere else to 
go, that his tediously aggressive posturing, which 
includes staging an "indictment" of Sinn Fein 
seeking our ejection from the process, and similar 
noisy protestations, is his ticket into the substantive 
talks, and that we should put up with it. So we do. 

The other view is that his behavior is unacceptable, 
deeply hurtful to those who have suffered because of 
British, Unionist or Loyalist violence, and that he is 
going to continue with this type of play acting 
indefinitely. Or at least until the two governments 
tell him that enough is enough. 

And that is where we all are at this time. 

One thing can be said with absolute certainty. 
The Unionist leaders have no interest so far, and 
have yet to come to the decision they should make 
peace with the rest of us. And it is important to 
stress that this is about the rest of us, by which 
I mean both governments and all other parties, and 
not about some special problem which Unionists have 
with Sinn Fein. Though, of course, they have that as 
well. But the reality is that David Trimble has yet 
to engage, except on a very tactical basis, with anyone. 

Look back over the last year before Sinn Fein arrived 
into the talks building? The big achievement of that 
period was the unequivocal restoration of the IRA 
cessation of August 1994. There is no comparable 
initiative on the Unionist side or worthy response to 
it, despite the widespread desire among a very large 
Unionist constituency for its leaders to engage in 
real talks. On the contrary, the Unionist response to 
the IRA cessation was to withdraw from the process. 

I do not doubt that Trimble's grandstanding tactics 
are popular with sections of his support base. But we 
should note the difference between making politics and 
making peace. Anyone can grandstand, and given half 
a chance, most politicians will. But how many can lead 
instead of playing to the gallery? 

Those who say Trimble is behaving as he does because 
of the threat from Ian Paisley and Bob McCartney are 
making excuses for him. The UUP is well able to take 
care of itself, and anyone who is genuinely committed 
to peace will not let party politicking hold back 
progress. Because that is all this internationalist 
rivalry is: politicking. And the Unionist leaders are 
all big boys now, and well able for it. 

In my opinion, Trimble has a strategy which includes 
engaging in his owntime and on his own terms in these 
talks with everyone except Sinn Fein, and his objective, 
at this time anyway, is to subvert the peace talks and 
to reduce their potential and their capacity to usher 
in real change. And that is what this is all about -- 
about change, which is what Unionism is afraid of. Today 
Trimble led his party into the negotiating room. There 
has been a massive media focus on this because Sinn Fein 
is in that room. But Trimble never said a word during 
what he had billed as his confrontation with Sinn Fein. 
He remained silent. Instead his colleague Ken Maginnis 
read a tediously long "indictment" against our party 
 during which he "indicted" the new Labor government in 
London, the Irish government, John Hume and us. Then 
they and Jeffrey Donaldson left and sent in some 
junior people to listen to the responses of the 
indicted ones. 

For our part, the Sinn Fein delegation welcomed 
the attendance of the UUP and the smaller Loyalist 
parties. Looking at it from their point of view 
today was a big step. But it was a big step for 
us as well. 

Among our delegation was Councilor Sean McManus, 
whose son was shot to death by a UDR officer. He 
listened patiently to former UDR officer 
Maginnis describing Sinn Fein as "a monstrous 
deceit" and "an evil Mafia" in the course of a 
rambling invective of untrue allegations against 
Martin McGuinness and myself. Afterwards, in a 
press conference, Sean extended the hand of 
friendship to Maginnis and his party. He did so 
because our party is here to make peace. 

Trimble may yet surprise us all by embracing this 
objective. He may follow the example of Sean McManus. 
I hope that he does, but I am sure that if and when he 
does, that it will be when he has been firmly pointed 
in the right direction by Tony Blair. 

Remember, it was Blair who told the world that the 
train was leaving the station, and that it would wait 
for no one? It is now over to him to deliver on his 
promises and on the guarantees he gave about 
substantive talks. With today's (Tuesday's) carry-on out 
of the way, the two governments are now to table a 
procedural motion to move this process into substantive 
talks. They should have done that by the time you get 
to read this. 

What will the Unionists do then? 