Alliance Youth Chair joins Basque roundtable on peace

3.10.55pm GMT Wed 14th Mar 2007

Chair of Young Alliance, Ian James Parsley

The Chair of the Alliance Party youth wing, North Down Councillor Ian James Parsley, will attend peace discussions in Bilbao this week. He will sit on a panel being quizzed about what the Basque process can learn from Northern Ireland, after the Alliance Party's fine showing in recent Assembly elections here.

Cllr Parsley stated: "Clearly we are delighted that the Alliance Party is now seen by more and more people as an authoritative political voice in Northern Ireland. The election results last week show this.

"We cannot allow other parties with one-sided views of the process here to make the sole running in creating international links to other regions scarred by recent conflict. Our message that we want to build a united community and a country we are all proud to call home must be heard.

"In many ways, the Basque Country is well ahead of us. They have a functioning private-sector led economy and a justice system which is accepted by all but a small minority. They have the benefit that most people consider themselves 'Basque', the divide is more a purely strategic one than a social and religious one.

"Our message remains clear, however. All sides must accept the rule of law, delivered by an accountable police service; all sides must work towards a functioning economy making us less reliant on hand-outs from London or Dublin; and all sides must agree to share power on behalf of the entire community. We remain committed to scrapping our sectarian political system and the social divisions that come with it, and we are happy to take that message to anyone willing to listen."

ENDS