Extract from a speech given by Jeffrey Donaldson to the annual general meeting of the Newtownards Ulster Unionist Branch, 11 November 1996 | Quill

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Writing Peace: David Trimble Collection

Extract from a speech given by Jeffrey Donaldson to the annual general meeting of the Newtownards Ulster Unionist Branch, 11 November 1996

Monday, 11 November 1996

In a speech delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Newtownards Ulster Unionist Branch on 11 November 1996, Jeffrey Donaldson, expressed concerns about potential PIRA violence aimed at pressuring the British Government into making political concessions. Donaldson highlighted the PIRA's demands, which included the immediate inclusion of Sinn Féin in multi-party talks without prior decommissioning of weapons, a six-month timeframe for the talks, and the implementation of confidence-building measures such as prisoner releases and RUC reforms. He criticized the Irish Government and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) for supporting these demands, accusing them of disregarding the suffering caused by the PIRA. Donaldson emphasized that Ulster Unionists would resist any attempts to include Sinn Féin in the talks without a complete and permanent end to violence, the establishment of decommissioning mechanisms, and the handing over of significant weapons. He insisted that the decommissioning process must be independent of negotiations and not used as a bargaining tool. Donaldson called on the British Government to uphold democratic principles and warned that if they conceded to PIRA demands, Ulster Unionists would seek to bring down the government in Parliament.

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Writing Peace: David Trimble Collection

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