10/08/2010
éirígí general secretary Breandán MacCionnaith has issued a challenge to the leadership of Sinn Féin to engage in a public debate with the socialist republican party.
MacCionnaith was speaking at éirígí’s Divis Mountain demonstration on the outskirts of Belfast on Saturday [August 7]. His comments came after Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams claimed to be interested in dialogue with a number of republican organisations.
MacCionnaith said: “There are those in Ireland who want to see éirígí go away; who seek to misrepresent and criminalise us out of fear of the challenge we are presenting to the political, social and economic apartheid that continues to exist in the Six Counties.
“In the past week, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams claimed to have contacted a number of groups, including éirígí, to request discussions. As party general secretary, I can confirm that so such request has been made of éirígí by Gerry Adams or anyone else in Sinn Féin."
“However, if Sinn Féin want a debate, let’s have one. But it should be an open public debate. We have no interest in behind closed doors discussions. Let éirígí and Sinn Féin put their political, social and economic agendas to a public republican audience, in west Belfast for example, and let them decide who has the most radical, realisable manifesto for change.”
MacCionnaith continued: “There are those who fear that we will damage the substandard political settlement which they have negotiated. Well, they should be afraid, because that is exactly what we intend to do.
“éirígí is not going away. We will continue to build across Ireland to complete the reconquest of this country by the working people of this country.”
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