Guardian, November 29, 2004
Ulster close to power deal, says Adams
Paisley to meet arms body in search for pact with Sinn Fein
Ted Oliver
Monday November 29, 2004
The Guardian
A Sinn Fein delegation will today hold groundbreaking talks with Northern
Ireland's most senior policeman, Hugh Orde, to discuss plans to scale back
security as part of talks to restore devolution.
The Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, will lead a party delegation for a
meeting in London with the PSNI chief constable and the prime minister. The
Democratic Unionist party leader, the Reverend Ian Paisley, is also due to
meet the head of Northern Ireland's independent disarmament body, General
John de Chastelain.
Mr Paisley is expected to verify that independent witnesses - two churchmen
selected by the DUP and Sinn Fein - will be present when the IRA hands over
their arsenal within the next few weeks and that pictures will be taken.
He warned that the destruction of IRA weapons had to be "transparent and
conclusive" but refused to say if he was prepared to sign up to a final deal
which would see the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland power sharing
executive.
The DUP is close to reaching an historic deal to restore devolution, Mr
Adams said yesterday. He told the Breakfast with Frost show that "we can get
an agreement despite the refusal of Ian Paisley to talk directly to us. I
think he will do a deal but there is a responsibility on the British
government to press ahead with the Irish government on all the outstanding
aspects of the agreement".
He said Sinn Fein had two objectives: "One is to do a deal with the DUP and
two is to ensure that it is bedded and that the governments put their
propositions firmly in the fundamentals of the Good Friday agreement."
Sinn Fein's chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, would not say whether or not the
IRA had agreed to allow photographic evidence, or if they had even been
asked.
"We have no influence on that," he said. "Ian Paisley will come to
understand that he has no influence over that. The two governments have no
influence over that."
He added: "We are on the verge of establishing trust between Sinn Fein and
the DUP."
The DUP leader has refused to spell out publicly what demands have to be
satisfied before he signs any new deal but his executive has given him
unanimous backing for whatever decision he makes.
He has warned he would walk away from any deal that he does not consider
fair although party sources say decommissioning is the main issue and it is
close to resolution.
Both governments are anxious to get firm replies from the DUP and Sinn Fein
by tomorrow but it seems likely there will be a further delay until later
this week.
There are still fears in government circles the entire process could
collapse at the last minute, as it did last year when David Trimble's Ulster
Unionists reneged after a carefully choreographed sequence of statements and
events.
To make sure everything runs to plan it emerged US President Bush called Mr
Adams and urged him to advance the peace process, said a White House
spokesman.
Scott McClellan confirmed that the President "expressed his support for the
peace process and the agreement" proposed by Tony Blair and his Irish
counterpart, Bertie Ahern. Mr Bush also "called on Mr Adams to help provide
leadership to move the process forward".
An anonymous statement to newspapers purportedly from IRA members
threatening a split if more arms are handed over increased the jitters.
The "disgruntled Provos", apparently from the East Tyrone, South Down and Co
Antrim battalions say that IRA leaders have promised no decommissioning.