Remove Sinn Fein from Executive, say hardliners

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, AUG 24. Political tension in Northern Ireland has heightened with hardline Unionists demanding the expulsion of Sinn Fein from the power-sharing arrangement and a Labour M.P. accusing the British Government of ``appeasing'' Republicans despite their unwillingness to give up their weapons as envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement.

The demand for Sinn Fein's expulsion follows the arrest of three suspected IRA men in Colombia on charges of working with a guerilla group. Though Sinn Fein continued to maintain that the men had nothing to do with it, Unionists pointed to newspaper photographs showing at least one of them sharing a platform with the Sinn Fein president, Mr. Gerry Adams. A senior Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, Mr. Reg Empey said the Sinn Fein's Colombia ``connection'' had ``exposed'' its intentions over arms decommissioning.

Other Unionists suggested that reports that the IRA men were training Colombia guerillas probably in exchange for arms confirmed that it had no intention to disarm. ``The republican movement says it is committed to peace yet these charges suggest they are still engaged in international terrorist activities,'' the Unionist hardliner, Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson said. He described the Colombian development as a serious blow to the peace process.

Observers said the Colombian authorities' decision to charge the three men with terrorist activities was a huge setback to Sinn Fein's credibility. ``The move by the Colombians could hardly come at a more sensitive time, closely following as it does Sinn Fein's rejection of a plan to reform the police service in Northern Ireland and the withdrawal of an offer from the IRA to disarm,'' The Guardian said.

Meanwhile, a former Labour Minister and sitting MP, Ms. Kate Hoey has attacked the Blair Government for not pressuring the IRA to decommission. In an article in the pro-Tory The Daily Telegraph, she said the Government had been playing a ``complex game of appeasement with republicans'' at the cost of the Good Friday Agreement and the Unionist cause. She recalled that in his speeches in 1998, Mr. Blair had unequivocally emphasised decommissioning as crucial to the peace process and said the ``expectations raised by his pledge'' had not been fulfilled. She said she had supported the campaign for the Good Friday agreement because she believed that Mr. Blair had ``got it right''.

Developments since then had been disappointing and ``many of those who speak to me at home feel he never meant a word of his original pledges.'' ``I do not accept that, but time is running out for the Agreement,'' she said blaming the crisis in the province on republicans.

Fears that the continuing political deadlock was likely to be exploited by extremist groups were reignited today after loyalist paramilitaries threatened to step up their terror campaign.

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