Breaking news, martin mcguinness interview, exclusive interview, real ira, dissident republicans, sinn fein

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a.    Martin thanks for taking the time to talk to us today, can I ask you why you believe that ‘dissidents republicans’ are traitors and criminals?b.    I would say simply, the people of Ireland voted for the Good Friday Agreement and those who engage in violence to undermine that agreement are traitors and criminals, these people are engaged in drugs dealing, pornography, murder and that is at odds with the terms and conditions of the Good Friday Agreement.c.    Can I ask you about you negotiations with MI6 during the 1980s and 90s, it has been suggested that you were recruited by MI6 in 1985, can we deal with that first?d.    Any contact that I had with MI6 was by order and direction of the Army Councile.    If we consider that 7 out of 10 members of the Army Council were British Agents, how can you say that you were doing the work of the IRA?f.     I am aware that the republican movement was infiltrated to the highest level, I can’t deny that, however, I was not recruitedg.    When you were meeting with MI6 Agent Michael Oakley were you aware that your meetings were being monitored by former IRA Commander/M15 Agent Sean O’Callaghan and that Sean was advising Oakley?h.    At the time I would not have been aware of that, however, on reflection I can see that that could have happenedi.      So if we understand that the British Secret Service had infiltrated the Army Council and its subordinate levels, and you were in negotiations that were being directed by MI6/MI5 Agents, what part of those negotiations do you think republicans had control overj.      When put like that, I understand what you are trying to say, however, for my part, I was carrying out the will of the Army Councilk.    Can you offer any explanation as to why the British Secret Service and SAS executed so many IRA volunteers in the ‘border’ counties from 1986/1992 when you were in deep negotiation with the same secret servicel.      I think it was just bad luck, the IRA were hitting hard and the Brits struck backm.   I appreciate what you are saying, however, the Brits did not strike back in Belfast or Derry?n.    I can’t enter the mind of the British, they done what they done and we done what we doneo.    I would like to put it to you, that the reason the British focused on the border counties was to undermine the leadership of Kevin McKenna and Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy as neither were fully supportive of negotiations with the Britishp.    I don’t think that was the case, McKenna and Murphy were on the Army Council, they sanctioned the negotiations, so how could they not be supportiveq.    Do you think that the British viewed yourself and Adams as weak links who could be brought into a colonialist type arrangement at Stormontr.     No, I think the British realised as we did that the war was going nowhere and they had bigger fish to fry in faraway placess.    I have read the communications that were exchanged between yourself and MI6 Agent Michael Oakley, what did Oakley mean when he signed off on one of those communications with the words, “Martin, I hope you don’t mind if I give a new meaning to Tiochaigh ar la”?t.      I assume he was talking about peaceu.    Are you sure he was not talking about the surrender of the Provisional IRA?v.    No, I think he was simply talking about developing a peace processw.   Surely the reason MI6 exists is to deal with conflict or threat to national security, why would Oakley be concerned with a peace process, rather than the unconditional surrender of the IRAx.    That is not the way I see ity.    Do you honestly think that you had the intellectual capacity to engage with the most sophisticated Intelligence service in the worldz.    I done what I was instructed to doaa. My point is, you say you were negotiating, when in fact you were simply being moulded by an intelligence service that had surrendered most revolutionary organisations around the worldbb. My view was that I needed to get a deal that put republicans at the heart of Irish politicscc.  Surely, republicans are nothing more than a side show for international observers, and had it not been for the corruption of Fianna Fail you would have nothing more than single figure TDs in the Daildd. I think that the people see us as a credible alternative to corruption and cronyismee. How can that be when only a few months ago your organisation murdered Paul Quinn in Monaghan or Robert McCartney in Belfast, how can you be an alternative to criminality when you are up to your neck in crimeff.    There will always be rogue elements, we can’t control everyone who supports our organisationgg. Would you say that those who murdered Garda Gerry McCabe were rogue, or was that robbery sanctionedhh.It is unfortunate that McCabe died however, 1996 was an uncertain period, and IRA activity had to be sanctioned in order to fund operations and electionsii.    Are you saying that money from that robbery would have went to Sinn Fein/jj.     I am saying that the republican movement was a collective at that time, the IRA have now been stood downkk.  Did you take any pleasure from discrediting Sean Gallagher during the Presidential electionll.    Gallagher was Fianna Fail and trying to sneak in to the Aras as an independent, we simply used the Green Book to put him out of the racemm.              In fairness, at the end of the day Sinn Fein did not benefit from discrediting what most people would say is a decent hard working man who has created employment in this country?nn.Politics is a dirty business, if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchenoo. Why, have you been able to get away with calling dissidents traitors and criminals, why have you not been attacked?pp. Mainly because these people are criminals, they don’t have the mental ability to take on the Provisional movementqq. It has been suggested that British agents within the ranks of the dissident groups are simply protecting people like yourself as you are viewed as key British assetsrr.    That is not true, I think that the dissidents are criminals being used by the Britishss.  What are your views on the revelations surrounding Gerry Adams, do you think that Gerry Adams is the right person to lead up the Sinn Fein Partytt.    I think what has been disclosed is tragic, I think that with hind-sight Gerry would have acted differently, but such information would have been used to discredit the leadershipuu.Are you suggesting that matters such as child rape should be concealed to protect political leaders?vv.  No I am saying that things would be dealt with differently with hind-sight, mistakes were made and Gerry won’t be about foreverww.               Are you suggesting a change of leadership?xx.  I am simply saying that none of us are getting any younger so change is inevitableyy.  Do you think that change will see the decline of Sinn Fein when compared with your fortunes in the last general election in the republic?zz.  No, I think that Sinn Fein will continue to grow, and what may have been a protest vote will be realised as a core vote for the partyaaa.              Do you honestly think that the Enniskillen bomb in 1987 was a mistake or were you secretly happy that it had been sanctioned by the Army Council?bbb.              The IRA had taken a big hit in 1987 with Loughgall, even if I wanted to stop Enniskillen I could notccc.               Would you have tried?ddd.              I had a role to play in the IRA, that role would have been quickly undermined if I began to argue against certain activityeee.              I have a feeling that you changed direction in the mid-1980s but felt constrained by some on the Army Council?fff.  I would say that a good deal changed in the 1980s and for some of us we were locked into situations that we could not get out ofggg.              Is it your suggestion that you would have ended the war in the mid-1980s if it had not been for people like Kevin McKenna, Michael McKevitt, Slab Murphy?hhh.             It is fair to say that many within the republican movement knew the game was up, and I think that many people such as Dennis Donaldson turned to the Brits to help bring an end to a pointless situationiii.   Finally Martin, what are your personal ambitions for the future?jjj.    Well, I intend to run for the Aras in 7 years’ time, if I am alive and well, and the party backs me, I intend positioning myself for that role, and I think in 7 years people will be better placed to support my candidacy.kkk.                Thanks Martin for taking time to talk to us.
Breaking news, martin mcguinness interview, exclusive interview, real ira, dissident republicans, sinn feinMartin McGuinness has said dissident republican supporters must realise they are backing people "swimming in a sea of criminality and drugs", “These people are drug dealers, child molesters and informers who would never have been allowed in the ranks of the Provisional IRA”.Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and MI6 Agent was speaking following the murder of prison officer David Black.Mr Black was shot dead on the M1 in County Armagh on Thursday as he drove to work at Maghaberry Prison.First Minister Peter Robinson said everyone in Ireland had to realise the dissidents were their enemy.He described Thursday's murder as "evil and immoral"."We will do everything within our power as two administrations to ensure that the people who are responsible are caught, brought before the courts and that the courts apply the due process of law to them," he said. Mr Black, a father-of-two from Cookstown, was the first prison officer to be murdered in Northern Ireland in almost 20 years.Dissident republicans are believed to have been responsible.Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Republic's government discussed the murder at a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meeting in Armagh on Friday.Mr McGuinness said there was no prospect of the killers - who, he said, dressed up their criminality in a flag of political convenience - destroying the peace process."There is not a political party on this island that hasn't subscribed to the criticism and condemnation of the murder of David Black," he said."This is a 32-county problem and can only be dealt with by the PSNI and Garda."I believe that there is a duty and a responsibility on every citizen who supports the peace process to give every support to the Garda and the PSNI for the apprehension of those who were responsible for the murder of David Black."We can't have a half-baked approach to people who wish to destroy everything that has been built up over the last 15 years."'Extortion and drug-dealing'Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny said dissident republicans were linked to criminality, extortion and drug dealing which had also led to deaths on the streets of Dublin.He said Mr Black's murder had overshadowed Friday's meeting."We do not want to see a return to this, nobody on this island wants to see a return to this," he said."The assistance of the government of the Republic of Ireland is available to our colleagues here in the executive and assembly and PSNI in Northern Ireland. "I do hope that the perpetrators of this murder can be brought to justice and dealt with by the courts."