The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland on 15th April announced
that they required clarification on a number of points regarding
'The Agreement' and could not at that stage recommend it to
the people of Ulster.
Having sought such clarification including a further request
for a meeting with the Prime Minister, the Grand Lodge Officers
regret that the request for a meeting has not yet been acceded
to (It must be remembered that a meeting with the Prime Minister
was first sought last October).
It has to be said however that clarification has been forthcoming
from a variety of other sources including statements by Ministers
in Parliament and the meeting between the Prime Minister and
members of Sinn Fein last Monday.
With the half yearly meetings of the County Grand Lodges
commencing early next week the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
has no other option but to advise the County Grand Lodges
that the many areas of difficulty in the Agreement have not
been satisfactorily resolved.
Therefore the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland cannot recommend
the Agreement to the County Grand Lodges and their Members.
The opinion of Grand Lodge is that the Agreement provides
for such things as;
- Dublin interference in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland.
- The prospect of an undemocratically accountable Assembly.
- The prospect of unrepentant terrorists in the executive of
the proposed Assembly.
- The Maryfield Secretariat and the Anglo Irish Agreement in
another guise.
The decommissioning of illegal terrorist weaponry is not adequately
dealt with despite public assurances and we have the telling
comments of Mitchell McLoughlin of Sinn Fein who said that
there might be partial decommissioning in two years if there
was a British withdrawal.
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