Peace process in ‘deep crisis’, says McGuinness

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has said that the peace process is in “deep crisis” and that a collective effort is needed to rebuild it.

Speaking at a meeting of party election workers in Belfast on Monday, the Mid Ulster MP said that the British and Irish governments wanted to reduce all problematic issues to one single issue – the IRA.

Mr McGuinness said. “The historic and contemporary reality is that the IRA is a response to deep injustice and to the failure of politics in the north. By addressing and resolving these issues we can create the conditions where the IRA ceases to exist.”

However, one of the overriding factors hampering any possibility of a deal is the murder of Robert McCartney at a Belfast bar last month. Senior IRA members are thought to have been behind Mr McCartney’s murder and so far seven Sinn Fein councillors have been suspended from the party as internal republican investigations continue into the fatal stabbing.

At the weekend, Sinn Fein politicians congregated in Dublin for their annual conference under the watchful eye of the McCartney family. Robert McCartney's sisters were there at the special invitation of Gerry Adams who pledged his support to the family - despite his party’s stance against witnesses going to police, an issue currently at odds with the family's wishes.

“His [Mr McCartney’s] murder was dreadful, not only because of the way he died and not only because it robbed his family of a father, a partner, a brother, a son,” Mr Adams said. “His murder was dreadful because it is alleged some republicans were involved in it. That makes this a huge issue for us.

“Those responsible for the brutal killing of Robert McCartney should admit to what they did in a court of law. That is the only decent thing for them to do. Others with any information should come forward.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr McCartney’s sister Catherine described Mr Adams' speech as “encouraging” but said that their priority was to see those responsible brought to justice.

Mr McCartney, 33, was stabbed to death following a row in a Belfast city centre bar on January 30.

(MB)