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Sinn Fein, of course, argues that it is separate from the IRA. But there is overwhelming evidence that, if they are not one organisation, they are at least "inextricably linked." The British and Irish governments have long acknowledged this in actions as well as words. In February 1996, they stipulated that Sinn Fein would have to persuade the IRA to renew its ceasefire before Sinn Fein could participate in the Stormont talks, and that if IRA violence resumed during the talks Sinn Fein would be excluded.
Both those things happened. The IRA ceasefire was renewed in July 1997, allowing Sinn Fein to enter the talks in September. In February 1998, Sinn Fein were excluded from the talks for a time because of the RUC's Chief Constable's 'firm view' that the IRA were responsible for two murders.
There are, therefore, good precedents for holding Sinn Fein to account for the IRA's actions, and some grounds for the belief that when that is done the IRA responds.
New Dialogue's resolution allows for the possibility that decommissioning and Sinn Fein's participation in the Executive might start simultaneously.
Labour MP and peace campaigner Harry Barnes has tabled the following Commons motion on "Sinn Fein and the attempted murder of Marty McGartland."
"That this House notes that the IRA has murdered 3 people this year and continues to carry out so-called punishment beatings whilst thousands of people remain exiled in fear of being beaten or murdered; further notes that the IRA has almost completely failed to live up to its promises to allow the families of the disappeared to locate the remains of their loved ones and has not started to decommission its illegally held arsenals of lethal weapons; strongly condemns the IRA's attempted murder on 17 June in Tyneside of Martin McGartland, the former RUC agent who infiltrated the IRA, saved up to 50 people's lives and who had previously narrowly escaped murder by the IRA; believes that the IRA is actively targeting Sean O'Callaghan, a former Irish police agent within the IRA, as well as prominent politicians; recognises that Sinn Fein and the IRA are inextricably linked and share leadership personnel; asks Gerry Adams urgently to condemn this attack on Martin McGartland and to give a personal assurance that he actively disavows any further murder attempts by the IRA; and believes that failure to do this will be taken by most reasonable people as providing substantial evidence of Sinn Fein's bad faith in the peace process."
The cross-party motion has so far been backed by Martin Smyth, Lynne Jones, Ronnie Campbell, Peter Bottomley, Julian Lewis and Ann Winterton.
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