Sir Patrick Mayhew's speech at a meeting of the Foreign Policy Association in New York on 12 April was a useful and constructive contribution to our collective efforts towards the development of the peace process and an agreed political settlement in the spirit of the principles contained in the Joint Declaration.
Both Governments share the determination that the use or threat of violence will not prevail. The position of the two Governments on violence is clear and unambiguous. The Joint Declaration has opened up a new avenue, by providing an honourable means for all sides to take the first step towards a lasting peace and an agreed just settlement in Ireland.
I agree with Sir Patrick's statement that ending of the armed conflict which has so afflicted the lives of so many in Northern Ireland over the past 25 years is not going to require any surrender. In my Irish Association speech on 10 January I made the same point in the following terms:
For over 20 years there has been a prolonged military stalemate that has stifled most of the possibilities for political and economic progress. There are no military victories on either side, nor on the basis of past experience does any side have any reason to expect one. It is generally agreed that there will be no surrender on any side, Loyalist, Republican or by the British or Irish Governments, and surrender terms are not acceptable to any side. It is totally unrealistic for anyone to expect peace on that basis. There can only be a mutual process of demilitarisation through confidence-building on all sides.
An abandonment of violence in favour of full democratic engagement does not imply victory or defeat for any side.
Cherished principles and aspirations would not require adjustment or relinquishment. Only the method of pursuing these demands would change in the context of a clear commitment to exclusively peaceful methods and to the democratic process.
The security forces on both sides of the Border will continue to search for illegal arms and weapons, both now and after a cessation of violence. A comprehensive process of demilitarisation on all sides will be essential if the confidence-building necessary for peace is to take place. That process will also include the withdrawal of the British army from the streets of Northern Ireland. The only condition for full participation in the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation is a complete and permanent cessation of violence.
I would like to avail of this opportunity to express my grave concern and condemnation of a series of recent brutal and indiscriminate sectarian murders by Loyalist paramilitary organisations, which have been the agency responsible for most deaths in Northern Ireland since 1992. Since the beginning of this year, they have been responsible for eight out of the 11 murders committed. The Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew, pointed out last Saturday that, of the total 137 charged with terrorist offences so far this year, the great majority, 87 were Loyalist, reflecting the increased activity of the Loyalist paramilitaries. I would call on the authorities responsible for security in the North to step up their protection of vulnerable Nationalist areas, but it would be reasonable for those providing such protection to expect that in that situation they would be free from attack.
By and large, I believe that those closest to the communities from which paramilitary organisations spring are best placed to express the revulsion of all decent people at such acts. In that regard, I welcome the forthright comments of councillor Michael McGimpsey and of the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Robin Eames, who has called on the Loyalist paramilitaries to become part of the movement towards peace. The Loyalist paramilitaries have no vestige of justification either, under the Joint Peace Declaration, for any continuation of violence. The declaration states, not only that the British Government will uphold the democratic wish of a greater number of people of Northern Ireland on the issue of whether they prefer to support the Union or a sovereign united Ireland, but I also solemnly state in the declaration that it would be wrong to attempt to impose a united Ireland, in the absence of the freely given consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. The Loyalist organisations know as well that, towards the end of the same paragraph 5 of the declaration, I have pledged the Irish Government to respect the civil rights and religious liberties of both communities, in terms very similar to those which they set out themselves.
As follows from what I stated on Saturday, when I spoke in favour of the indefinite continuation of the right to dual citizenship in the North, their British citizenship is under no threat from the Government and people of this State, either now or any time in the future.
Nor is there any question of using a majority in the island as a whole to override the constitutional wishes of the people of Northern Ireland. Indeed, even Sinn Féin at its Árd Fheis accepted the principle that it would be wrong to coerce Northern Protestants into a united Ireland. As I stressed in the House yesterday, any future accommodation must be based on agreement and consent in which the rights and participation of both communities must be guaranteed.