On entering our twentieth year in Northern Ireland politics the Progressive Unionist Party reaffirms that it is wholly and unequivocally committed to achieving it's political goals exclusively through democratic and peaceful means.
There is no room whatever in our philosophy for violence of any description from whatever source, for whatever reason.
The greater number of people in Northern Ireland desire the continuance of the Union with Britain which has been proven time and time again in democratic Elections. This palpable fact is recognised by both British and Irish governments, plus the whole of political and corporate America as well as the other World democracies. So be it.
Let no one be under any illusion that, in their hearts, the Provos, too, accept this reality but are having the greatest difficulty coming to terms with it and the fact that tile Unionist population are the real British presence in Northern Ireland.
If this manifest fact needed to be re-enforced, the report from the Dublin Forum for Peace and Reconciliation copper-fastening the 'principle of consent' did just that with the sole dissenting- voice being that of Sinn Fein.
Virtually every shade of political throughout the world is either out of step with Sinn Fein or vice versa.
There is no one, anywhere, who agrees with the Provisional's political analysis!
We in the Progressive Unionist Party believe that if all-Party talks had been convened prior to Canary Wharf such a happening would quickly have revealed the core argument of Sinn Fein for what it is worth, thereby exposing them to a very large dose of real politick, the result of which would have placed the IRA in a bigger dilemma than that in which they now find themselves.
Political shenanigans and distractions by political parties contributed to semi-stagnation whereas had all-Party talks taken place evasiveness and intransigence would have been placed in perspective and dealt with in a methodical and substantial way in a first step towards the reformation of our society.
Reforms are needed and are long overdue but we need the power to enable us to make the necessary change. A whole plethora of communal, social and economic ills are going unaddressed because of political instability and as a result it is the deprived who are being further disadvantaged.
'Order in Council' governance and a Quango-driven community is of no use to anyone, it is distant and uninformed therefore ignorant of what the people really want and need.
We, in our Party, know only too well what needs to be done in Northern Ireland in political terms and we will play a full role in bringing about a society where everyone has a voice and an input commensurate with their political mandate. Our society needs fill-time politicians. Politics is a profession and requires whatever skills, time and commitment it takes to get the job done well. Most politicians in Northern Ireland have other professions and, however willing, it is difficult to see how they can divide themselves adequately in one profession and yet fully represent a constituency politically. The P.U.P. Political and Advisory Centres are open all day for five-and-a half days of the week....every week!
We expect no favours and it is certain we shall receive none. We do not over-estimate our importance, but we are important to the process and so, too, is Sinn Fein if the IRA will permit them to enter into dialogue by declaring a credible and lasting cease-fire. We say now that there has to be a re-instatement of the IRA cease-fire because they cannot be included in negotiations without one being in place. Democracy cannot wait and for them, it is 'make your mind up time'. They must join now or get left behind.
In a civilised society, frustration with the lack of political progress does not warrant murder, mortars and mayhem.
Further isolation of Sinn Fein has been the only consequence of the IRA's illogical actions and the question is seriously being begged 'has the methods of the Provos become more sacred than the Cause'?
Such an overwhelming and over-powering level of opposition to violence cannot be ignored by any group or party seeking political ratification at the polls.They cannot purport to run on a 'peace ticket' this time around.
The Northern Ireland political idealistic epicentre is not based in some time-warped version of Irish Republicanism but in the reality of what is acceptable, possible and applicable in these Islands.
It has been mostly working-class people who have borne the brunt of the violence over these past twenty-five years and they are sick and tired of political sabre-rattling and mischievousness from whatever quarter.
There can never, ever, be a return to the awful political and social abuses of the past and Stormont as we knew it is dead and gone, never to be resurrected. Granted there are those political dinosaurs who would opt for the 'good old' sectarian and strata system of the past where everybody knew their place and forelock touching was the norm. We have had enough of that obnoxious trio...bigotry, sectarianism and hypocrisy.
We would oppose as vehemently and strenuously as anyone else a return to such a divisive and partisan system of government.
The Progressives are not airy-fairy idealists but we do have imagination and we know what can happen when people sit down to reason together for the benefit of every section of our divided society.
In the last year's Forum elections we received a credible 26,082 votes which we believe is just a stepping-stone to bigger things. We have taken the most difficult step of all, the first step in playing a fuller role in the political life of our Country and we clearly realise the enormity of all that this entails. We will give the people, all the people, a real alternative to the politicians and the politics of the past which have so ill-served our divided community. We have made a positive impact on the political scene especially amongst the younger element in our society, who for a variety of reasons are more politically perceptive and more willing to embrace change. We all know that our society must change and so long as we, together, are the masters of change we can stride confidently into the future sure in the knowledge that at long last through courage, compromise and vision we can attain that which has eluded us for so long and to finally end the waking nightmare of past decades ultimately resulting in this society being at peace with itself and with its neighbours.
You, the electorate, have had the opportunity to judge the performances in the media and in open forum of the Progressive Unionist Party spokespersons and it is you, and you alone, who will decide what representation will emerge in the aftermath of this general election. It is you who can put politicians where they most wish to be and it is you who will long remember, and not easily forgive, those who stole our peace or failed to consolidate it. You have the responsibility to choose those who are willing and capable of delivering an honourable peace and a reasonable political settlement.
Choose well.