IRELAND: SINN FEIN LEADER ADAMS SET TO ACCEPT PEACE ACCORD

(10 May 1998) English/Nat Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams looks set to secure a vote in favour of the Northern Ireland peace accord from members of his I-R-A- (Irish Republican Army) allied party. Adams opened a meeting of the party faithful in Dublin on Sunday with a plea for his colleagues to back the Good Friday plan brokered last month. To help Adams get backing for the peace deal, Britain ordered the temporary release of four senior I-R-A prisoners from Northern Ireland prisons who offered their support to the Sinn Fein leader. Jubilant scenes in Dublin heralded the arrival of the I-R-A prisoners granted temporary release for the Sinn Fein conference. Four of the released men make up the Balcombe Street gang, jailed in 1975 after the prolonged police siege of a London address. They joined four further I-R-A prisoners released from Northern Ireland's Maze prison. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was triumphant. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We said there could be no political settlement and no peace settlement until all of the prisoners are free." SUPER CAPTION: Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president And he claimed the prisoners' spirits - such as that of Hugh Doherty, whose brother is a leading party figure - were not broken by their lengthy incarceration. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Hughie Doherty, the same, unbowed and unbroken - less hair than his brother." SUPER CAPTION: Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president The Irish authorities granted the prisoners temporary parole to offer their support for republican Sinn Fein's expected endorsement of the Northern Ireland peace plan. Around one-thousand Sinn Fein members will vote on the peace plan later on Sunday. The Sinn Fein president is urging them to give their support to the Northern Ireland peace accord drawn up on April 10th. The deal was the result of intense negotiations between Northern Ireland's major political parties, and the British and Irish governments. It calls for a compromise government for the region. The deal will be the subject of referendums on both sides of the Irish border on May 22. I-R-A prisoner Mike O'Brien said the presence of Sinn Fein in any new Northern Ireland formation was vital. SOUNDBITE: (English) "If there are matters of principle here it is that we must advance the struggle, that we must never stand in awe of change. We view the participation of Sinn Fein elected representatives in an assembly as necessary to ensure any potential momentum, dynamic and change is affected by us." SUPER CAPTION: Mike O'Brien, released prisoner from Portlaoise jail Party members are expected to vote on two motions on Sunday. One asks them to change the party's ban on participating in any Northern Ireland government. The other asks them to campaign for the Good Friday peace accord in May 22nd referendum. But while endorsement for the plan is expected here, there is still some republican discontent in Northern Ireland. The Sinn Fein leader's call for peace follows an overnight bombing attack at a police barracks by I-R-A dissidents - police reported no injuries or serious damage. But Adams said the republican movement must adopt a flexible approach in order to achieve its goals. SOUNDBITE: (English) SUPER CAPTION: Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president Sinn Fein says that breakaway republican groups do not pose any threat to the peace process. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...