The future of the Catholic-Protestant power-sharing government in Northern Ireland is hanging by a slender thread with First Minister Peter Robinson’s decision Thursday to step down, along with all but one of his ministers, because of a series of disputes.
Advertisement
Police suspect the murder of former IRA member Kevin McGuigan in Belfast on August 12 may have involved some members of the IRA, a paramilitary group that is supposed to have disbanded.
Police have suggested his killing involved members of the IRA.
Bobby Storey was one of three leading republicans questioned and then released without charge over the murder of former IRA man Kevin McGuigan Sr. “Nobody is a member of it”.
Mr Robinson’s resignation and the crisis that now increases the possibility of a return to rule from Westminster, was sparked by a murder this summer which had alleged links to the IRA.
“I will be working and continuing to work with determination with the Prime Minister, the Northern Ireland parties and colleagues in the Northern Ireland government to get a way through these crises and find a resolution to the hugely important challenges we now face”.
The United Kingdom government is hoping that Northern Ireland’s five main parties will gather for talks on Monday to resolve the crisis, as the Irish Times reports.
Mr Story and two other republicans, Eddie Copeland and Brian Gillen, were arrested last Wednesday by PSNI officers investigating the murder of Mr McGuigan. Sinn Fein leans to the left, and has become a strong voice against austerity north and south of Ireland’s border; the DUP, meanwhile, is seen as a conservative player on the political landscape.
“They must demonstrate the leadership and generosity that we expect from all parties”.
Sinn Fein have denied the IRA carried out the attack.
Adams said that even a fractured Northern Executive was “better than what it replaced” and said that the party should stay “patient, focused and calm”.
“The IRA has gone, the IRA have stood down, they have put their arms beyond use, they have left the stage, they are away and they are not coming back”, he said.
Mr Storey said he had “serious concerns” over his arrest, and the timing of it and claimed “not a shred of evidence or intelligence” was presented to him during questioning.
A permanent end to paramilitary activity was one of the key conditions of a 1998 peace deal that eventually led to arch-rivals – including unionist Rev. Ian Paisley and nationalist Martin McGuinness – forming a shared government at Belfast’s Stormont Castle.
Ms Villiers called on Labour’s new leader, to be named on Saturday, to continue the “bipartisan approach” on Northern Ireland.
Over at Stormont House, the Secretary of State Theresa Villiers said it was a “bad day for the Northern Ireland political process”.
“We can’t just ignore that – we need to deal with the issue”, she said.
Advertisement
The unionist walkout from the mandatory coalition came after the DUP failed to get the Assembly adjourned for a period to allow crisis talks to address the implications of the murder of Mr McGuigan.
