Irish Republican News and Information, 3. March 2003,
http://irlnet.com/rmlist/
Today: BLAIR FLIES IN AS NEGOTIATIONS REACH A CLIMAX
Hopes are high ahead of a potentially historical summit in
Belfast on Monday involving the Irish and British Prime Ministers
and delegations from all the parties which have participated in
power-sharing in the North of Ireland.
The goal remains the restoration of the political institutions in
Belfast and the full implementation of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement -- potentially leading to a new phase in the long
process of peace and reconciliation.
But despite reports of some progress in behind-the-scenes talks
between Sinn Fein and the British government, there is still a
swathe of outstanding issues which remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, unionists have been seeking to renegotiate areas of
the Good Friday Agreement in ways which are anathema to
republicans and which threaten to scupper any potential deal.
Excited tabloid speculation in advance of today's summit was
dismissed by all parties, but this did not diminish hopes that a
backlog of obstacles can be cleared this week.
Among the key issues up for discussion are British
demilitarisation, IRA decommissioning, policing and justice
reform, devolution of more powers from London and the integrity
of the devolved institutions.
On Sunday, Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness told a
republican commemoration in South Armagh that the talks would be
"absolutely critical to the future of this entire island".
So far, negotiations had been "tough, focused and detailed", he
told the rally. Despite an appeal for rapid 'acts of completion'
by the British Prime Minister in October, the talks had only
moved into a higher gear in recent weeks, he said.
"Nonetheless, some movement has emerged, particularly around a
British government commitment to new legislation on policing and
criminal justice."
Some progress was also made on other matters which did not
require legislation, but Sinn Fein was pursuing implementation on
several fronts.
"Our goal is to achieve progress across all of the issues, like
policing, criminal justice, demilitarisation, equality, human
rights and the Irish language, as well as tackling the future
sustainability and stability of the political institutions and
what that means for Ulster unionists.
"That means acts of completion by the British government which
convince republicans and nationalists that there is a process, a
plan in place that will see the full implementation of the Good
Friday Agreement."
Mr McGuinness also criticised Ulster Unionist leader David
Trimble, who has suggested sanctions should be imposed on Sinn
Fein on the basis of allegations of IRA activity, including the
possible expulsion of the party's Ministers from the
power-sharing Executive.
The move has been seen as an attempt to place conditions on
nationalist democratic rights by the back door, treating Sinn
Fein voters as second-class citizens.
"We made our compromise when we negotiated the Good Friday
Agreement," said McGuinness. "No-one under any circumstances has
any right whatsoever to ask us to compromise on that compromise."
McGuinness added: "Any move to introduce sanctions would be
entirely outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and will
be resisted by us.
"Under no circumstances will Sinn Fein accept the rights of our
electorate being diluted or denied. We will not be held
accountable except for the Sinn Fein party and our mandate."
HARD LINE
He urged the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party to grasp the
opportunity to move forward. But David Trimble's party has
seemed semi-detached from the talks amid continuing indications
of internal dissent over any possible deal allowing Sinn Fein
back into government.
Trimble maintained a hard line in a speech to the party's ruling
Ulster Unionist Council on Saturday. Visible decommissioning, a
demonstration by the IRA that the war is over, and sanctions
against Sinn Fein should the IRA fail to please were essential
parts of any agreement, according to Mr Trimble.
The IRA had "to go away", he said. "We need open clear statements
that the war is over for good, and is not going to be restarted".
He called for full and public decommissioning of IRA arms in
order to boost unionist confidence.
But an appeal by Trimble for party unity was effectively ignored
by anti-Agreement MPs, Jeffrey Donaldson and David Burnside.
"There will be an election," said Trimble. "As things stand, we
ought to do well. We will not do so, if a faction within the
party acts as if they were fighting their own party."
Trimble stopped short of calling for IRA "disbandment" but
Jeffrey Donaldson insisted that total disbandment and disarmament
was the only way by which Ulster Unionists would return to the
Executive with Sinn Fein.
"The bottom line for unionism has to be what we agreed last
September at the Ulster Unionist Council. We need to see the IRA
disarm and disband and that remains the position," said
Donaldson.
Mr Trimble, who was unanimously re-elected UUP leader at the
meeting, told delegates that he had never tried to manoeuvre the
UUP party "into a position it did not want" and promised to put
any deal to an emergency meeting of the ruling Ulster Unionist
Council.
Such a meeting could take place as early as Saturday week,
according to reports. Devolution could then be restored in time
for the formal dissolution of the Assembly on March 21st ahead of
the scheduled Assembly election on May 1.