Irish peace won’t stop, says Brown

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Brown paid a visit to the army barracks west of Belfast where the Real IRA splinter group gunned down two soldiers, and wounded two other soldiers and two pizza deliverymen Saturday. The British prime minister insisted the Real IRA had mounted its attack in a last-ditch bid to keep the 22-month-old coalition of British Protestants and Irish Catholics from taking root. The dissidents were already too late, he said.

Brown said the two gunmen and their getaway driver have got to be hunted down and brought to justice as quickly as possible. "What the people of Northern Ireland are building together ... no one, no murderer, no terrorist should be allowed to destroy," The Associated Press quoted him as saying said after meeting with the police chief and leaders of the power-sharing government.

Brown said the Real IRA had attacked now "because of the success of the political process, that people are working together and a small number of people want to disrupt something that is working - something that is showing the whole world that Northern Ireland stands together," he said.

"We should remember that our future isn't dependent on the evil of those who seek to destroy our society," First Minister Peter Robinson, the Protestant power-sharing leader, told the Northern Ireland Assembly. "Rather it depends on the good to be found in those throughout our community who want to build a stable, peaceful and democratic society."

Sinn Fein faces criticism

However, Robinson and other party leaders criticized Sinn Fein, the IRA-linked party that represents most Catholics, for failing to make clear-cut statements calling on Catholics to inform police about the dissidents living in their midst. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams faced repeated questioning, but offered only an indirect response. "The logic of our position that is that we support the police in the apprehension of those involved," he said.

Ireland's Catholic cardinals, archbishops and bishops offered a much clearer appeal to their flock. "We appeal to everyone who has information which might help to bring to justice those involved in carrying out this attack to give that information to the police," they said in a statement.

The British Army commander in Northern Ireland vowed his troops would continue to lead normal lives despite a growing threat from dissidents trying to unravel the IRA cease-fire.

Brigadier George Norton, who oversees more than 4,000 Northern Ireland-based soldiers, said his men and women were shocked and angered by the deadly return of dissident IRA violence - but were determined to remain focused on training for overseas missions, especially Afghanistan.

The army identified the slain soldiers as Cengiz Azimkar, 21, from London, and Mark Quinsey, 23, from the English city of Birmingham. They were both supposed to depart Sunday for Afghanistan. Responding to the questions over Azimkar’s descent, the ministry spokesperson said: "I guess, he is of Turkish origin. But I have no clear information about this issue," according to the Anatolia News Agency.

The four men wounded in Saturday's attack remain in serious but stable condition at Antrim Area Hospital. The victims include the two pizza couriers: a 19-year-old Antrim resident and a 32-year-old Polish immigrant. Norton emphasized he was not willing to restrict his soldiers' lives, which include living in local homes and dining out - nor did he plan to return them to patrolling in N. Ireland again.