TRIMBLE VOICES DOUBTS OVER PROPOSALS
05-07-99
The British Prime Minister has said that it will be known within days if Northern Ireland's paramilitaries are serious about decommissioning of weapons, if the Northern Executive is put in place. In a House of Commons statement in London, which he made to try to reassure Unionists about British and Irish proposals to move the peace process forward, Tony Blair said that Sinn Fein would not be allowed to continue sitting in the executive if there was no decommissioning.
He appealed to the parties not to throw away the best chance for peace this generation. The Prime Minister said that Unionists now had a much better deal than was on offer at Hillsborough; he said that it provided a guarantee of a complete process of decommissioning plus a fail-safe that fully protects their interests.
The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, again voiced his doubts about the proposals. He repeated that his party did not want to see both devolution and decommissioning. He said that the proposals meant that groups could effectively veto the executive.
In a statement, the Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, said that his party could not be excluded from the political institutions in the North if the IRA did not decommission. He said that there were no circumstances, short of breaching the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, under which Sinn Fein could be expelled.
Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator, Martin McGuinness, earlier accused the Ulster Unionists of hiding behind the guns issue. In a statement, he said that it was becoming increasingly obvious to many that David Trimble did not want to share power with Nationalists and Republicans.
The Ulster Unionists rejected an invitation to talks in Downing St., which Tony Blair was set to offer to their Assembly Party. The 26-strong group had been expected to have a face to face meeting with the British premier at which Mr. Blair was to try to address their concerns about the proposals. However, party negotiator, Sir Reg Empey, said this morning that they would not be going. The Belfast Assembly member said that the party did not feel it necessary to go "like out of step schoolchildren to the headmaster's study".
Earlier, Tony Blair told the BBC that the executive set to be established next week could go ahead without Sinn Fein, if the IRA failed to decommission. His government is working on the details of the so-called fail-safe legislation that would come into play if either decommissioning or devolution failed to occur. The process of wooing Unionists is likely to continue up to 15 July, when the executive is due to be triggered.
Meanwhile, the Orange Order has postponed five parades in support of their brethren at Drumcree, which had been due to take place in Derry this week. Church leaders, senior Orangemen and politicians have also commended the Order for dispersing with dignity after the Drumcree parade and said that they were relieved how calm the night had been, although there were only a few violent incidents in the early hours.
Stones were thrown and some loyalists tried to cut through the barricades. The RUC fired several rounds of plastic bullets at Loyalists protesting at the decision to re-route yesterday's parade. The RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan said that the Drumcree security measures had defended the high level of security at Drumcree. He said that they would remain in place for the forseeable future.
The area has been quiet since this morning, with only a handful of people on Drumcree Hill, however a big security presence remains.
Local Assembly member, Brid Rogers of the SDLP, has played down rumors of a deal being struck between the Orange Order and the British government over Drumcree. She said that the situation at Drumcree is a conflict, which cannot be resolved by deals being done politically or behind people's backs.
The County Armagh Grand Master of the Orange Order, Dennis Watson, has said that it is now up to Tony Blair to ensure that the Portadown Lodge gets to complete its traditional route. Mr. Watson has denied any suggestion that the reason the lodge dispersed so quickly at Drumcree yesterday was that it wanted to meet requests made by either the Parades Commission or Mr. Blair. He said that the Order's discussion with Mr. Blair should help resolve the dispute.
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