Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD and the north's First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA have announced they will not attend St Patrick’s Day events at the White House this year due to Donald Trump's stance on Gaza.
She said her party had to take a principled stance on the issue but the Sinn Féin leader believes Taoiseach Micheál Martin should meet Donald Trump next month:
The leaders stated this is a ‘principled stance in response to the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza’. The announcement was made this morning at a press conference in Dublin.
The US President has threatened to remove the Palestinian people from the area to create a new "riviera of the Middle East."
The Sinn Féin leader usually attends events at the White House and on Capitol Hill each St Patrick’s Day.
Sinn Féin leaders have been visiting the White House for St Patrick's Day for many years, despite never holding the Taoiseach's office.
A sizeable delegation from the party travels to raise its profile in the US and to engage with Irish Americans
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have criticised Sinn Féin's decision not to travel to the White House for St Patrick's Day.
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris believes you make a stand from inside the room. Micheal Martin — the ultra-diplomatic political veteran who took the reins of a new coalition government last month — dismissed Sinn Féin’s anti-Trump move as cynical opposition posturing.
Teachta McDonald said:
"I have followed with growing concern what is happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank and like many other Irish people have listened in horror to calls from the President of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian land. Such an approach is a fundamental breach of international law, is deeply destabilising in the Middle East and a dangerous departure from the UN position of peace and security for Palestine and Israel and the right of Palestinians to self determination.
“The ties between Ireland and the United States are historic and run deep. There are deep bonds between Sinn Féin and people in the United States who supported peace and prosperity in Ireland. These relationships are valuable and enduring. The US is a valued friend to Ireland. Their work in helping to achieve the Good Friday Agreement stands as a clear example of successful U.S. foreign policy. They are an important partner for peace and play a strong role in Ireland’s economy. St. Patrick’s Day, each year, is an important moment to re-enforce all of those connections.
“But there is also an onus on us to speak honestly and to act when we believe a US administration is wrong, catastrophically so in the case of Palestine.
“I have thought deeply about this issue in recent days and listened to many voices inside and outside of Sinn Féin. I have made the decision not to attend the event in the White House this year as a principled stance against the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, something which I believe demands serious dissent and objection.
“The only route to peace and security is a permanent ceasefire, followed by a negotiated settlement that guarantees peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis through a just and sustainable two-state solution. That should be the position of the United States.
“Sinn Féin will continue to engage with the US administration at various levels, with friends of Ireland on Capitol Hill, and with the trade union movement and business leaders both in the United States and right across Ireland. We will continue our relentless work for a future of peace, progress, stability and prosperity.
“An Taoiseach will attend the White House for his bilateral engagement with the United States President. It is he who represents the Irish people and will have the opportunity to speak on behalf of Ireland when he meets with the American President. He must use this opportunity to reflect the views of the Irish people in relation to Palestine, in support of international law and to reject threats for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people and seizure of land.
“We will be briefing members of the International Diplomatic Corps in Dublin later on today and business leaders, north and south in the coming week.”
Ms O’Neill said:
“I have taken the decision as First Minister not to attend events at the White House this year.
“The decision not to travel to the White House has not been taken lightly, but it is taken conscious of the responsibility each of us as individuals have to call out injustice.
“We are all heartbroken as we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people and the recent comments of the US President around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, something I cannot ignore.
“I have travelled to the US on many occasions to seek support for peace and for our economy in the face of Brexit. I have met with senior figures on Capitol Hill. I have met with successive US Presidents. I have always spoken honestly and passionately and I will always do so.
"I am fully aware of the positive impact the US can have because we have experienced it in Ireland, north and south and it has had a transformational impact. And I will continue to engage with the US – politically and economically.
“But people look to us as leaders.
“In the future, when our children and grandchildren ask me what I did while the Palestinian people endured unimaginable suffering, I can say I stood firmly on the side of humanity.”
