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GERRY ADAMS HAS described Brexit as a “hostile act against the people of this island” after the British government said that his claims that leaving the EU will destroy the Good Friday Agreement “had no basis in fact”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week this afternoon, the Sinn Féin leader reiterated that the Good Friday Agreement would be destroyed if Theresa May’s government continued on its current trajectory and left the EU.
A spokesperson for the British government said that there would be “no return to the border’s of the past” and that no elements of Brexit will undermine the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
When it was put to Adams on the RTÉ show that May had indicated that rights of the agreement, and guaranteed under EU law, would be transferred to British law, he replied that her commitment to remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights was a major cause of concern.
He said that Theresa May and her government had “set its face against protocols it’s obliged to implement”.
In terms of a hard border following Brexit, he said that a “child could have told you” it would happen in the event of Britain leaving the EU and said that it cannot be allowed to happen.
He added that the onus should be on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to push for a special designation for Northern Ireland within the EU.
Furthermore, Adams accused the Irish government of having “no plan” for how to deal with Brexit.
He also rejected claims that his statements constituted “dangerous rhetoric” and it will not make the upcoming negotiations following the latest Northern assembly elections more difficult.
In response to Adams’ claims in recent days, the UK government’s statement said: “None of the institutions and provisions set out in the Belfast Agreement, including those relating to human rights, are in any way undermined by the decision of the UK to leave the EU.”
The statement added that it would work to ensure that the upcoming Stormont elections ensure ” a strong and stable devolved government” that works for everyone in Northern Ireland.
In the RTÉ interview, in which he discussed his relationship with Martin McGuinness, Adams said he was not yet prepared to disclose a date when he would step down.
In terms of who should succeed him as party leader, he said “everyone in Sinn Féin has to be leadership material”.
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Does he not see that the DUP are doing a pretty good job at destroying the Northern Ireland economy even before brexit happens.
The Sinn Féin Brexit campaign was pathetic.
It clearly hurt SF to pretend to move away from their anti-EU beliefs.
Maybe this joker should have put more effort when it counted.
What economy chris?
the british people had their vote, adams and co are just going to have to suck it up
@Diarmuid: Quite correct. SF have always been anti EU. Let’s not forget facts.
@shay lynch: you ok hun? XXX
Yep jimmy SF have always been anti EU but credit where credit is due, Brexit is not good for any of the communities in northern ireland and SF were not afraid to say so.
@Shane Kinsella:
Yes. The SF problem is that we are still in the EU. Why can’t they just say that they want us to leave EU also.
UK would also like this as it would solve lots of problems relating to their borders. Let’s call a spade a spade.
As soon as NI are firmly outside the EU, SF will be putting all their efforts into getting the ROI out of the EU in order to achieve their goals.
Perhaps the only thing I have ever agreed with Adams on. He is dead right. All those calling and supporting for a Brexit on here like AAA supporters were playing into the DUP and UKIPs hands when it came to our island’s future.
@Chris Kirk: The simple issue here is trust..I certainly would not trust any British Govt, especially when they remove themselves from the European Convention on Human Rights. Gerry Adams is correct, any N.Ire nationalist would and should be worried at the minute, and many spouting and ranting on this page do so without any direct experience of living in N.Ire.
I lived through it, I saw the shoot to kill, I saw the cover ups, I saw the collusion, not just the denial of rights but the denial of life, and never mind SF or the IRA, this is British Govt actions… actions and cover up’s that still go on to this very day and reach to very upper echelons of British Govt…and not just is N.Ire…So don’t fool yourselves our loose yourself in the anti SF hysteria that is spouted by many…forget SF for minute, think simply of N.Ire and ordinary catholic and nationalist people…
…the fact is simple, whether the border go’s up or not is a European matter for Ireland, not the British, they are out, bye bye, and so is any form of European legal accountability. A new hard border will be a slap in teeth for anyone who worked hard to establish or take on board the GFA, and many republicans and nationalists can quite correctly turn round and ask ..what did it achieve in terms of the cause of the conflict…?..this gets even harder to establish when we look at the discrimination openly being adopted by the DUP today and their continual subordination of Catholics, nationalists and all things Irish….has anything changed ? If the border go’s back, the answer is no……and the peace process will be on shaky ground.
..having said all that, this govt’s focus is not just N.ire..Ireland needs to work on it’s on economy after Brexit…it could be in the same boat as the North, if not worse…
Big diff from being anti-EU and anti-European.
I honestly wish Gerry was our Taoiseach right now, he wouldn’t just sit on Angela Merkel’s lap and take a pat on the head like our Enda does, we seriously need a strong leader on this Brexit Negotiation Issue as the Yanis Varoufakis article points out!
@Brendan McGill: Brendan..it’s all a nonsense to think that nobody really knows what exactly will happen over Brexit..Leading officials and negotiators both in the UK and Europe know exactly whats going to go down..the fact that we are either not being told or being drip fed little bits at a time, is worrying..But don’t fool yourself, the way forward is well marked out…the people that it really will affect, which is us, are simply the last to know…
Oh Jaysus don’t wish that on us we are in bad shape enough! Wouldn’t put much pass on the former Greek PM or Gerry trying to install unneeded and unwarranted fear, very similar to Farage in the U.K., hopefully we won’t be similarly fooled.
Diarmuid and the Blueshirts really are a daft bunch.
We will know soon if he’s predicting correctly. He’s certainly right when he says FG have no plan. Nothing strange there . Personally I believe Europe will cease to exist sooner than expected…
How can FG or anyone else have a plan when it’s pretty obvious that even the Brits don’t have a clue what they want. Brexit might actually help bring Europe together. Personally I hope so as a break-up of the EU would be truly damaging for everyone.
The Irish government should be the ones pushing for the north to be considered for designated status, they have no plans in place at all and seem to be winging it at times. Irish passport holders will still be EU citizens after the Brexit, their democratic wishes have to be respected.
Sorry but from what I see they Irish govt are the only ones that have been arguing for the North. And if the EU citizens up there want their wishes respected then they are out of luck as long as they remain in the UK. Not everybody gets everything they want.
Ricky, it’s about what the majority want, the Irish government have no plans in place to ensure Irish passport holders in the north will be able to avail of EU citizenship after the Brexit, they should be the ones who are pushing for designated status for their citizens north of the border, it is their job as co-guarantors.
Paddy pearse. Please elaborate.
Sorry but are you saying that people up the north will be denied the ability to have Irish/EU citizenship as of result of Brexit? Because that is simply not true.
They will be denied the benefits of EU membership if the north is not in Europe.
Then they should vote to leave the UK! But there seems no willingness on their part to do that so they just have to deal with reality. Either way the Irish govt can do very little for them, it’s their decision.
Ricky. If the EU breaks up we are going to have a European war in a few years. 1871 1914 1939…. peace since. The longest spell of peace in Europe ever.
Patrick.Gough. any chance of the winning lotto numbers for tuesday.
@Willy Malone:
Why should FG have a plan for N.I.
The Irish government has been elected to govern Republic of Ireland. Let Northern Ireland find a solution to the problem if they think there is a problem. We have not created any future problems for Northern Ireland.
I want my government to concentrate on running our country.
Exactly Jimmy they are not our problem. If we can help them out in some way that’s fine but they have to help themselves too instead of always relying on someone else. In the meantime we need to protect ourselves from the impact of Brexit by building ties with other countries and trying to get as much Brexit jobs as we can get.
What are the benefits of E U membership other than health care
Peter Murphy. What healthcare??
“What are the benefits of EU membership” Is this a actual question? Jesus F Christ!
Our so called Government should concentrate on everything to do with the Republic, they don’t govern the UK/NI, let them defend for themselves, we have enough issues to deal with without getting involved in another country. Brexit creates a huge issue for ROI , this should be of the utmost priority for the Government , huge fear that the EU will be disbanded before UK leaves the EU.
Jimmy and Ricky. A huge proportion of the people living there are Irish so yes it is our problem.
No it’s not! If they are not happy living there THEY should do something about it. We have our own problems to deal with.
You right Ricky, Niallers there are many Irish ex pats in many countries around the world, we have a huge issue with Brexit that our government need to act sooner than later, UK made their decision to leave the EU and NI is part of that. If people want that to change it up to them not us,we have enough on our plate with this governments poor performance and the fear is they will mess up Brexit as well. Anyway NI is a economic basket case and it would just too add much more problems. We can’t afford to take that on, full of public servants, if the Irish want to be in the Republic just move!
Gerry talking shite, Where is GF agreement does it state EU citizenship is a right.
@Paul: This is the same gang that was against joining the EEC in the first place. They have no principles about any issue. They say what they think will be popular at any given moment. They are worse than useless, they are a cancer on society.
Reality the GF Agreement will only be destroyed by people like Gerry who keep brining it up. I cant see the majority of NI is arsed with been in/out of the EU.
@Paddy Lions: Ah Paddy, no need to be so hard on us cancer sufferers…..
Paul, Irish passport holders in the north will still be EU citizens after the Brexit and should be entitled to remain in the union, a majority in the six counties democratically voted to remain in Europe.
Chris , how have you been ?
But the north is part of a larger voting bloc in the U.K. It always has been and the rules have been the same since the 1920s. You cannot distinguish between areas of the one country when it comes to voting. By your logic Gay Marriage would still illegal in Roscommon and South Leitrim
Phil
What difference will in/out make to them?
@Suzie Sunshine: Getting better Suzie, thanks….
@Mr Phil Officer:
Yes they will be expats
@Paddy Lions:
SF policy has always been anti EU
Chris, that’s good to hear. .
Great that you doin well Chris, best wishes
Gerry Adams overstates his case but he is not wrong. Brexit doesn’t necessarily undermine the GFA but it has the potential to do so. It all depends on how it is done. May’s statement last of week was not encouraging. She talks about the aspiration to keep open borders but doesn’t indicate how that will be achieved – especially if the fallback to WTO tariffs is adopted.
Most explicitly the GFA committed the UK government to legislate to guarantee European human rights under the Convention AND as adjudicated by the European Court of HR. They did so under the NI Act 1998. Brexit in itself does not require withdrawal from the ECHR or the jurisdiction on the ECtHR. The European Court of Justice from which they have explicitly committed to withdrawal is different. May has however talked separately about withdrawing from the E Convention on HR and the Court. That would most definitely be contrary to the explicit wording of the GFA and what the UK parliament did to fulfil the commitments given in the GFA.
@Terry McClatchey: Not only does Gerry Adams overstate his case to the media, Sinn Fein politicians in the north are denied their place by Gerry to voice opinions in Westminster where it really matters.
@Chris Kirk: They are not denied their place by Gerry. All of them intentionally sit on an abstentionist ticket. The knowingly run for election as potential abstenstionist MP’s. It has nothing to do with Gerry, so save your absurd claims.
@Chris Kirk: Chris thats utter BallX …”Sinn Fein politicians in the north are denied their place by Gerry to voice opinions in Westminster” ..the party..not Gerry, took this decision a long time ago to stay away from Westminster… and by all accounts it looks as if it was the correct decision.
People need to loose their personal feelings about members of SF and look and the bigger picture. The like Chris here, let their bitterness cloud their judgement !
What do Gerry Adams and Donald Trump have in common? They both have Barons! You heard it here first!
Gerry and the Don old friends back in the 90′s the Donald major donor at SF annual fundraiser in NY
@John003: That list of people that Gerry knows who grab women by the pu55y grows.
The brits pulling out of the European courts of justice and removing themselves from agreements made under the St. Andrews agreement! They are back playing at their old games!
Loose talk and those wanting the agreement to fall will see it fall. And statements this from Adams won’t help
Aha seems Gerry is missing his Balaclava clad buddies crawling on their bellies in ditches. There’s gold in them thar customs controls and lots of spare lead to go around too.
Brexit will only cause the failure of the Good Friday Agreement if the politicians want it to. Wrong mindset …. wrong result. The strongest politicians will be the ones that stand up and publicly declare that they will NOT LET THAT HAPPEN
Would a reasonable person see this as a veiled threat?
I wouldn’t call you reasonable Paddy / Leo.. So the answer is no
The British government say that Adam’s comments have no basis in fact. How can something that hasn’t yet happened have a basis in fact? This – along with the Brexit vote – further highlights that the British Government has no foresight.
The ECHR is not an EU institution for the umpteenth time. Some people think anything with the word “European” in it must be part of the EU.
@Rosa Parks: That is technically true Rosa. Brexit does not in itself mean the UK leaving the European Convention on HR or the jurisdiction of the European Court of HR. The European Court of Justice deals with trade etc and PM May has recently declared their wish to extract themselves from that. She has however also said previously that she would like to remove the UK also from the HR Convention and Court. There is no current formal commitment to do that. The Good Friday Agreement (and the NI98 Act that followed it) do explicitly tie NI into the HR Convention and Court as external guarantors of the Assembly/Executive doing noting contrary to the Convention.
Perhaps it is time to outlaw membership of this gang.
3 times as many journal readers are more interested in what Theresa May has to say than what jerry does
Time to trade in the suit so jerry
I wonder why Gerry chose this time, 7 months after the Brexit vote, to make this point?
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