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IRA denies blame for police station bombing
Unionists reportedly call for expulsion of Sinn Fein
September 16, 1997
Web posted at: 12:16 p.m. EDT (1616 GMT)BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- The Irish Republican Army (IRA) denied responsibility for Tuesday's bomb attack that caused extensive damage to a police station in Markethill, near the Northern Irish town Portadown.
The denial was made in a call to the Irish Broadcasting service by a caller using a recognized IRA codeword.
There were no reports of injuries in the noontime blast, which followed an uncoded warning and came as police were evacuating the area. The bomb had been planted in a transit van near the police station.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) normally used code words in its decades-old violent campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland. It restored a unilateral cease-fire in July.
The blast came on the second day of multi-party talks on the future of the British province, held at Belfast's Stormont Castle. For the first time, the negotiations include Gerry Adams' Sinn Fein party, the political arch-rival of the Ulster Unionists.
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), which favors continued British rule over Northern Ireland, did not attend Monday's opening day of the peace talks, and on Tuesday accused Sinn Fein and the IRA of involvement in the Markethill bombing.
Reuters reported that the Ulster Unionists sent a letter to the chairman of the peace talks, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, calling for the suspension of Sinn Fein because of its alleged involvement.
The Ulster Unionists have stayed away from the talks so far because it says it does not trust Sinn Fein to abide by the rules of the peace talks.
These rules -- known as the Mitchell principles, after the U.S. chairman -- say that paramilitary groups should hand in some of their arms as the Stormont peace talks progress. But Unionists repeatedly said the IRA should be forced to surrender arms before the talks got under way.
Seamus Mallon,
SDLP member of Parliament, describes the bomb site
AIFF or WAV
(306 K / 27 sec. audio)
Mallon speculates on motives for the bombing
AIFF or WAV
(357 K / 32 sec. audio)Ken Maginnis,
Ulster Unionist Party:
"We knew ..."
AIFF or WAV
(136 K / 11 sec. audio)
Maginnis blames the IRA
AIFF or WAV
(366 K / 32 sec. audio)Sinn Fein maintains it has no link or joint policy with the IRA and in turn accuses the Unionists of using the disarmament issue for its own political ends.
"This should be an incentive for all political leaders and the two governments to make sure this process works," Adams said of bombing.
"It should not be used as an excuse for non-participation by the UUP. It is regrettable that there are some people who don't see the potential of the peace process which we are involved in," Adams said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
- Newsmaker Profile: Gerry Adams - Sinn Fein President
- Newsmaker Profile: Tony Blair - British Prime Minister
- Message Board: The conflict in Northern Ireland
Related stories:
- Key Protestant party coy on eve of N. Ireland talks - September 14, 1997
- Sinn Fein gains access to Northern Ireland talks - September 9, 1997
- Unionists reject proposals for Irish peace talks - July 23, 1997
Related sites:
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- Sinn Fein - official party page; includes documents, press releases, and party objectives
- The Irish News and Belfast Morning News - Northern Ireland's largest morning newspaper
- The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
- Ulster Democratic Unionist Party Home Page
- The Irish Times Home Page
- Royal Ulster Constabulary
- Northern Ireland Information Centre
- Northern Ireland Government Home Page
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