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McGuinness meets Israelis and Arabs in Donegal peace meeting

By Noel McAdam
Tuesday, 21 April 2009

Paramilitary leaders turned politicians have attended a ground-breaking meeting of Israeli and Palestinian representatives in the Irish Republic.

Both Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA second-in-command in Londonderry, and Progressive Unionist Billy Hutchinson, a convicted former member of the UVF and former MLA, attended the Combatants for Peace seminar in Donegal.

They spoke with 15 former Palestinian militants and 15 Israeli war veterans, whose contact at the meeting which finished at the weekend would be regarded as treachery on their home soil.

Mr McGuinness, whose party leader Gerry Adams is preparing a report on the Middle East situation for new US envoy George Mitchell, said the militant Hamas, Palestinians and Israel government would have to talk eventually.

“You have a duty to negotiate. Whether you leave it for another 10 or 20 or 50 years, you will end up having to, so do it now and save lives,” he said.

According to a report in the Times, Mr McGuinness said it was the early 1990s when the IRA realised it could not defeat the British Army.

“We had a responsibility to challenge ourselves to find a way to break the vicious cycle of conflict and bring our political opponents into an inclusive negotiation.”

Mr Hutchinson said: “The thing that cemented the process for me was that republicans were on a parallel road.”

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Impatiality (or sitting on the fence), has never solved anything. If you continue to ignore a sore, it will fester. While there are continuing cries for Israel to be brought to justice for their last incursion into Gaza, it is nice to see that some people are attempting to assist.
Tell me Mr Falkes, while sitting on your fence, ignoring injustice and blatant murder and mayhem, what exactly have you done to help anything with your impartiality?

Posted by Ulysses31 | 22.04.09, 15:14 GMT

Remaining impartial to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is what allowed Israel to commit war crimes in Gaza just after Christmas. Thanks to the world's governments we are not going to see Israel disciplined in any way for their crimes against humanity. That's what impartiality gets you!
As for the rest of your negative comment, Michael, resentment will not get you anywhere. At least some people are attempting to help others, unlike yourself. Enough of the "once a terrorist, always a terrorist" attitude already. It seriously is starting to become a broken record. One with the volume slowly declining, thankfully.

Posted by Ulysses31 | 21.04.09, 15:48 GMT

I am sure that all parties involved from Northern Ireland are impartial to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, not. Who are the PIRA and the UVF to tell anyone on how to be peaceful when they were the biggest instigators of violence ever to walk the streets of Northern Ireland. As for Gerry Adams preparing a report for US government via George Mitchell, doesn't Gerry know who the biggest suppliers of weapons and support for the Israeli goverNment (as Gerry would say) are. Maybe he should prepare a report on the PIRA for the British goverNment since after all he is a fully paid member of the British establishment. Maybe the meeting took place in Gerry's mansion in Donegal, so much for being a poor oppressed socialist Catholic from Northern Ireland.

Posted by Michael Falkes | 21.04.09, 02:50 GMT