Irlandinitiative Heidelberg - Let's speak out against all weapons

The Irish and British governments should stop rewarding unionists for putting the peace process on hold, and declare immediately they will press on with the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said this weekend.

The Irish government in particular should take a proactive role, not act "like cheerleaders" or observers, he said.

Speaking from London, where he lobbied British MPs and media on how to advance the Good Friday Agreement, McLaughlin said only the republican movement and General John de Chastelain, the head of the decommissioning body, had delivered on their commitments in an honourable fashion.

Referring to Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble's dramatic, last-minute rejection of the latest deal to move to a power-sharing executive in the North, McLaughlin said.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the British prime minister Tony Blair "should make it clear that refusing to step up to the line will not be rewarded by the two governments holding back any further on those issues contained in the joint declaration".

"With the exception of the International Monitoring Commission, all of the other issues reflect the failures of the two governments to deliver on the Agreement," he said.

"We want an immediate statement from them that the implementation of the joint declaration will begin forthwith," McLaughlin said. "Let's see no more hold up in terms of demilitarisation, or the equality agenda, or human rights, or policing and justice issues."

He said nationalists wanted the Irish government to take a far more assertive stance on the implementation of the Agreement. He said the Irish government could demonstrate that it is "a co-equal partner" by picking up on issues discussed at the only all- Ireland ministerial council meeting that has taken place.

Sunday, 2 November, 2003

DUP capitalises on Trimble's intransigence

By Paul T. Colgan

When the votes are counted in the North's Assembly elections later this month, nationalists will have to face the fact that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is the largest unionist party.

The decision, by David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), to reject the IRA's recent act of decommissioning and put the political process "on hold" has further undermined his own party's standing within unionism. And he paved the way for the DUP, which is against the anti Good Friday Agreement, to be victorious.

Last week's events, prior to Trimble's about-face, were termed "historical",but a truly historical event will occur when the DUP sits down and talks to Sinn Féin and the SDLP.

While most commentators believe the DUP leadership, could not enter government with Sinn Féin yet, even if it wanted to, there are indications that a shift in the DUP's attitude towards republicans has already taken place.

East Belfast DUP man Sammy Wilson recently attacked Trimble, not on the basis that he had sold out unionism by negotiating with republicans, but because he was an incompetent deal-broker.

Wilson made his remarks while sitting two feet from Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin on UTV's Insight programme. Ian Paisley, the leader of the party, referred to Trimble in similar terms.

The DUP's party political broadcast, which was seen last week, may have surprised some with its overt calls for power-sharing and a "new" agreement that would see "unionists and nationalists working together". However, the change in tack from apparent DUP orthodoxy is not without precedent.

Iris Robinson, Strangford MP and wife of DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson, underlined the need for power-sharing in a speech to the party faithful last May.

"The lessons of the old Stormont parliament, the powersharing executive and the 1982 assembly show that without the support of both communities, a deal will not work," Robinson said. "The lesson is that both sides must agree."

Her speech, which has since been removed from the DUP's website, was ignored by much of the media, coming in the midst of election negotiations. Iris Robinson's admission that the old Stormont regime was simply unworkable was a stunning remark for a DUP member.

Wilson, a member of the North's policing board, was at it again last week when he said DUP members would not resign their seats on the board if Sinn Féin decided to join.This flew in the face of the DUP's stated policy of non-cooperation with republicans.

The DUP is following the same tactical strategy that Sinn Féin did with regard to its closest rival, the SDLP.The DUP has moved progressively closer to the style and the content of the UUP.

It may be prepared to watch asTrimble does the legwork on issues such as decommissioning and devolution, and then step into government at the last minute to claim the big prize.

"They want the work of the UUP handed to them on a plate," said one unionist. "Paisley hankers after recognition on a world stage - the DUP could claim that without their muscle, "Trimble would have sold Ulster out a long time ago. They could come in claiming that they were prepared to work devolution,thus securing the union."

Publicly, Sinn Féin has dismissed any notion that the DUP may be in a position to "renegotiate" the Good Friday Agreement.

Privately, however, some republicans have said that the prospect of sitting down with the DUP at the cabinet table was not entirely out of the question.

Wednesday's ele ction broadcast was notable in that, while referring to the DUP's intention to counter the "republican agenda", it did not rule out power-sharing with Sinn Féin.

Any such scenario relies heavily on the role played by people like Peter Robinson, the deputy leader of the DUP.

He and former UUP general secretary Frank Millar, who is now London editor with the Irish Times, produced a document in 1987 setting out an alternative to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

The document is thought to have outlined some form of power-sharing with nationalists, and was duly ignored by the respective leaderships of the UUP and DUP. Robinson subsequently re-signed from the DUP, only to rejoin some time later.

It was he, along with Nigel Dodds, Gregory Campbell and Iris Robinson,who shaped Wednesday's broadcast.

Many believe they can shift the DUP, a party whose Free Presbyterian roots saw hundreds of members brought up on anti-Catholic rhetoric, away from the `No' policies of the past.

The DUP believes it is the natural party of government in the North, and has staked its electoral prospects on such a notion. It has ac cepted power-sharing in principle and knows the British government is unlikely to cede to its much vaunted "renegotiation" demands.

Just where the party stands when the votes are counted is not necessarily a foregone conclusion.

Wednesday, 29 October, 2003

IRA statement on deal collapse

By Republican News

The following is the full text of a statement issued this evening by the IRA.

After protracted and detailed discussions, the leadership of the IRA recently made decisions to take initiatives with the objective of facilitating political progress.

These decisions were made after the UUP and the two governments had agreed to make their contributions as part of an agreed sequence.

We had sight of their stated positions and they had sight of ours.

Our initiatives, in line with our stated position, related to our commitment to resolve the issue of arms and our view of remarks made by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.

It was part of an agreement and an agreed sequence, which involved:

The announcement of an election
A statement by Gerry Adams
A statement from the IRA leadership
An act of putting arms beyond use
A report by the IICD
A statement by David Trimble
A joint statement by the two governments

As part of this we:

Met with the IICD with a view to implementing a process to put arms beyond use at the earliest opportunity
We, in line with that, carried out a further act of putting arms beyond use under the agreed scheme. This involved the largest amount of arms to date.

The political process the initiatives were designed to facilitate has been halted without a credible explanation from those who stopped it.

The leadership of the IRA honoured our commitments. Others have not fulfilled theirs. This is totally unacceptable. When we give our word, we keep it. We expect others to do the same.

Until they do so, there can be little prospect of progress on the issues they profess concern about.

Signed P O'Neill

Wednesday, 29 October, 2003

Let's speak out against all weapons

By Jude Collins, Irish News

I was driving along a country road last Sunday when a man flagged me down. He had an Essex accent and a gun, and his seven companions hovering in the background were similarly equipped. When he asked me who I was and where I was going, I told him. I was less than 10 miles from the place where I was reared and he was one Irish Sea and several hundred miles from his hometown, yet he was the one asking the identity and destination questions and I was the one doing the answering.

In the conflict from which we're emerging, there were two main combatants: the IRA and the British army. Commentators on both sides agree that hostilities ended when it became clear that neither side could gain a victory – the IRA could not expel the British, the British army could not destroy the IRA. A military draw. Since the ceasefire was called, one side – the IRA – has decommissioned three substantial caches of weaponry, has promised the destruction of more, and has made it clear that it supports the political path being followed by Sinn Féin. The IRA's conflict counterpart, the British army, has done none of these things: it has not said its war is over, it has not decommissioned and it will definitely not disband. There has been some scaling back of military posts and watchtowers, and if the threat of terrorism is removed, more will follow, it says. Should all sign of political violence subside – say if the IRA and all the loyalist paramilitary factions were to disarm and disband – the British army will trim its presence here to 5,000 troops.

Which raises a very obvious question: why, in peacetime, will we need several thousand heavily armed men in our midst? Well, it depends on who you talk to. Unionist politicians will tell you it's to maintain the peace. To provide security. To be available in an emergency situation.

Put another way: the British army will stay here to deal with anyone who might threaten the link with Britain or British interests. Like all armies, it deals with things by the implicit or explicit threat that if people don't do what it wants, it will shoot them. On occasion, as happened in Derry in 1972, the threat becomes action.

For some people, the military muscle of the British army in this part of Ireland is considered a good thing. Others detest it. But on one thing it's surely time there was agreement: to talk about all sides here pursuing their political goals by exclusively peaceful means is absurd. If you've got 5,000 highly trained, heavily armed people at your back, you're not drawing exclusively on the power of your argument, however weak or strong that argument may be. And yet the chorus of voices calling for proof of commitment to exclusively peaceful means continues to be directed exclusively at just one half of the former combatants, the IRA.

Clearly this involves a lot of self-deception, but it is self-deception that isn't confined to unionism. The murals of west Belfast declare 'Time for Peace – Time to Go'; to which someone should add that line from the Gilbert and Sullivan chorus: “Yes, but you don't go!” British squaddies may be shown trudging towards the horizon while a dove of peace calls 'Slan Abhaile' after them, but the truth is that at least 5,000 gunmen – with light, medium and heavy armaments – will be going nowhere near a bhaile.

And then there's the small matter of 134,000 legally held weapons, almost all in the hands of unionists. No-one mentions these when they're denouncing the IRA's lack of transparency. As for unionists paramilitaries: last weekend a UVF commander said he would be “laughed off the premises” if he suggested decommissioning of any kind.

It used to be said that the Troubles here could no more be ignored than an elephant in your back garden. The amount of arms in this society is not so much elephantine as Himalayan.

Yet unionist and media attention remains focused exclusively on the IRA arms mountain. It's as if all other threatening peaks did not exist or had dissolved into air.

All of the parties going into this election have proclaimed their commitment to exclusively peaceful means.

Let's take them at their word. And then let's see how many of them, over the coming weeks, speak out clearly and unambiguously against unionist paramilitaries, licensed unionist weapons and the thousands of armed foreigners in our midst.

This article appeared first in the October 30, 2003 edition of the Irish News.

Tuesday, 28 October, 2003

British government statement on talks, election

By Republican News

The following is the full text of a statement today by the British government on IRA arms, confirming the forthcoming elections to the Belfast Assembly on November 26 and re-emphasising its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.

"We regret very much that despite the significant developments in the peace process last week and further progress over this past weekend, it has not proved possible to resolve all the differences that emerged on the issue of decommissioning and move forward into the election on the basis of agreement."

"However, this setback should not obscure the major steps forward taken by the republican movement. The statement by Gerry Adams on October 21, which was endorsed by the IRA, confirmed the commitment to exclusively peaceful and democratic means and signalled the full and final closure of the conflict. These developments and a third act of arms decommissioning by the IRA, overseen by the Independent International Commission, are greatly to be welcomed. And we pay tribute to General John de Chastelain and Andrew Sens for their integrity and the professionalism with which they have undertaken their difficult task.

"The outstanding issue is the degree of transparency to be attached to acts of decommissioning, both in terms of the arms dealt with and how long it will take to complete the process. Despite the lengthy and constructive engagement of the leadership of the Ulster Unionists, the Government regrets that it was not possible to reach agreement on these matters in terms which were conducive to creating public confidence on all sides.

"Elections will take place on November 26, as announced last week. After that the British and Irish Governments will work with the parties to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, so as to enable devolved Government to be restored to the people of Northern Ireland. We remain optimistic that this will be achievable, building on the progress we have made in the last week.

"In the meantime, the Government stands by its commitments. We are fully committed to the Agreement as the only way forward for inclusive political progress. Its fundamental principles are not a matter for negotiation in the review that will take place following the elections. The continuing implementation of the Agreement also remains a firm commitment and that is why we shall seek after the elections urgently to create the conditions which will enable a working executive to be formed and all the elements of the Joint Declaration to be taken forward.

"We hope that the election campaign will be positive and constructive, and that after the elections we can build on the good working relationships between all the parties in Northern Ireland which have developed from their work together in the Executive and subsequently in the negotiations that have taken place since suspension."

Tuesday, 28 October, 2003

Irish government statement on talks, election

By Republican News

The following is the full text of a statement today by the Irish government on the forthcoming election and the peace process.

Despite intensive engagement, it has not been possible to complete the initiative that we believe would have represented the optimum pathway into the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Nevertheless, the developments over the last week have been very significant the statement by Gerry Adams, endorsed by the IRA, which I greatly welcome, and a third and substantial act of arms decommissioning by the IRA. Taken together, they represent a key advancement in the peace process on this island. We will be reflecting and also discussing with the British Government how we can respond to, and consolidate, these important developments.

I greatly appreciate the work of General John de Chastelain and his colleague Andrew Sens. The integrity and commitment they have brought to the work of the IICD has been crucial to the progress made thus far.

The people of Northern Ireland will now have their say on November 26th. In the coming weeks, I urge all of the parties to campaign on a positive and constructive basis, mindful that, following elections, a way will have to be found to restore the operation of all the political institutions.

The Good Friday Agreement remains the template for political progress. It is the only viable basis for an agreed way forward and the only one that offers the prospect of attracting support from both communities. Its fundamental values, principles and protections are not up for negotiation.

I commend the efforts made by all the pro-Agreement parties over the last five years to make politics work in the interests of all the people of Northern Ireland. They can be proud of their collective achievements. We know of all the difficulties and frustrations. But we have also seen what can be achieved. The situation in Northern Ireland is now unimaginably better as a result.

Together with Prime Minister Blair, I look forward to resuming political dialogue with the parties in the aftermath of the elections and to rapid agreement on the setting up of an inclusive Executive, to pressing on with the full implementation of the Agreement and fully securing its vision of a new beginning for all the people on this island.

Monday, 27 October, 2003

Pre-election talks end in failure

By Republican News

Efforts to agree a political deal between the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein ended tonight in Belfast when they failed to sort out their row about IRA weapons decommissioning.

All the North's political parties will now concentrate on Assembly elections with polling due to take place on 26 November.

Earlier, the Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said the speech made by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams was very important and very significant but they had not had the "transparency" necessary to complete the deal.

Although the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) verified that the IRA's third disarmament move was larger than ever before, unionists were disappointed at the low-key presentation of their report.

Mr Trimble said the Adams speech had been "very positive", saying in effect that the war was over and the conflict would be pursued in a peaceful manner, but what they "did not have was a sense that things were coming to an end or to a completion".

But he said that were inexorably moving towards an election. A meeting of his party's ruling Ulster Unionist Council, planned to consideer any possible deal on Wednesday, has now been cancelled.

Meanwhile, officials of the two governments, who had been working to resolve the latest standoff over unionist demands for "transparency" in IRA disarmament, have gone home.

Speaking to reporters tonight, Mr Adams said "Unionists find it hard to say 'Yes'".

He accused the Ulster Unionists of failing to deliver their side of the bargain last week and of walking away from a short term solution.

"I have Mr Trimble's commitment in my pocket," the West Belfast MP said.

"I have the commitments of the British and Irish Governments in my pocket.

"All of what Mr Trimble has said is about what republicans have done and he has praised what has been achieved but what we don't have is what the Ulster Unionists agreed.

"Those were crucial in getting the IRA and the words which I said which I stand over."

ELECTION CAMPAIGN BEGINS

Tonight, the election campaign began in earnest with a feel-good party political broadcast by the Ulster Unionists. Party leader David Trimble took credit for the Republican peace moves last week, and offered to continue working to end the conflict. Stressing Britishness, the broadcast cited 'Saturday football', 'music', and 'fish and chips' as aspects of British culture which were important to unionists.

Meanwhile, the nationalist SDLP has admitted it has recruited strategists from the British Labour Party and the right wing Progressive Democrats parties in the 26 Counties for its Assembly election campaign.

Former Six-County agriculture minister Brid Rodgers has been appointed as the party's director of elections.

The SDLP is due to preview its party election broadcast in Belfast tomorrow. It has also set up a press centre in Belfast city centre for the duration of the campaign.

Mrs Rodgers today said her party had been "galvanised" by events in the peace process in recent weeks.

"We have a good press operation and there is a real desire out there among our activists to fight our corner," she said.

"The handling of what was supposed to be a deal in recent days shows why people need the SDLP there.

"People write the SDLP off at their peril in this election."

Sinn Fein's Philip McGuigan said the SDLP was panicking.

The North Antrim Assembly candidate said the appointments sent out a message to the party`s supporters that 'we are in difficulties and we don't have the people inside the SDLP to help us'.

He many people will be asking what about after the election.

"If they don't trust people in the SDLP to drive an election campaign, what confidence can people have in their leadership after an election?"

Saturday-Monday, 25-27 October, 2003

Deal hopes fade

Trimble prepares election broadcast

By Republican News

As election concerns move to the fore, hopes that the peace process can be put back on track in the short term are fading.

Sinn Fein has said it still has not received an adequate explanation for Tuesday's events, when a deal for a planned sequence of peace moves came to a grinding halt with the refusal by Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble to reciprocate.

South Belfast Sinn Fein Representative Alex Maskey said today that there is 'a belief that the UUP have effectively walked away for this phase of the process'.

"The forthcoming Assembly election could have been conducted in a positive, pro-Agreement climate," he said. "That is in our collective interests. That has been the focus of our collective efforts in recent times.

"We had an agreement; an agreed and choreographed series of statements and events to give expression to that and David Trimble committed himself to this in the discussions between the UUP, Sinn Fein and the two governments. Sinn Fein delivered our part of this sequence as agreed. The IRA delivered their part of the agreement as agreed. General de Chastelein presided over a substantive act of putting arms beyond use and reported this. Others did not fulfil their part as agreed.

"Instead the UUP put up new demands. We have spent the days since then trying to find a way through this. But this must be set firmly in the context of what has already been agreed between the UUP, the British Government, the Irish Government and Sinn Fein.

"However, I believe that the UUP have effectively walked away for this phase of the process. I could be wrong. I hope that I am wrong. Mr Trimble needs to tell us. He needs to make his position clear. It now over to David Trimble and the UUP leadership to decide."

Mr Maskey said he had restrained his comments, because "recent intense dialogue" between the two parties was "a hugely important development".

"Whatever about the present difficulties this must be protected. It is key to future political progress."

Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionists prepared for their first election broadcast and the start of campaigning in earnest for the November 26 poll to the Belfast Assembly.

David Trimble will appear on television with his wife Daphne tonight and state his party's position as it embarks upon the election trail.

He is expected to take credit for moving the Republican Movement towards a peaceful stance, and criticise his more hardline unionist opponents for their failure to take on Sinn Fein negotiators in the talks.

Encouraging his organisation to get out on the campaign hustings, Mr Trimble said the world would "understand and respect" a Unionism "that stretches itself to reach a decent and honourable peace".

The UUP will tell voters, he said, that it would not share power with Sinn Fein after the election unless the IRA gives more information. "As things stand, I cannot recommend that my party returns to government," he said.

"Unionism cannot afford a low turnout on November 26th. It has been our Achilles heel in the past. This time anyone with a stake in future prosperity . . . must get out and vote," he declared.

Ulster Unionists have semaphored that a key meeting of the party's ruling council on Wednesday, which was to consider any new deal with Sinn Fein, is to be cancelled.

Party leader David Trimble announced the meeting date as an effective deadline for his new demands to be met, particularly his demand for "transparency" on last week's move by the IRA to put a large tranche of arms beyond use.

In a newspaper article, the UUP leader wrote: "I had the chance to push the Republican Movement away from its violent ideology and I took it. I make no apology."

He said he had insisted on seeing a fully transparent list of weaponry destroyed because of "past disappointments". "When the Republican movement came up short, I put the process on hold."

He accepted that Sinn Fein's Mr Gerry Adams' speech on Tuesday was "a significant advance".

"Sinn Fein's commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences is welcome, but we all know from past experience that it is the actions of the IRA that count.

"The pity is that the IRA has not been open and honest in its dealings. Not telling the truth sometimes can be as damaging as telling a lie," Mr Trimble said.

The two governments have kept a low profile since Tuesday's debacle, while the hardline DUP and nationalist SDLP have derided the process which led to the collapse.

Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley is planning to raise in Westminster allegations that the British Prime Minister misled MPs that he had been given more information about the arms moves from the General than was in the public domain. Tory spokesman Quentin Davies has also accused Mr Blair of deceiving MPs.

Confusion remains over the source of Blair's alleged information.

The head of the international decommissioning body General John de Chastelain has repeated that the Irish and British Prime Ministers do not know the scope of Tuesday's act of disarmament by the IRA.

He said even the IRA itself may not have a full inventory of its weaponry as many of its members who hid the arms and explosives are no longer alive.

Meanwhile, in a television interviww, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams expressed anger that republicans had been blamed for the latest impasse.

"It is hard to calculate the damage done by the arrest of the process. I have David Trimble's statement. I have the statement of the two governments.

"Whatever is said, everyone in this process, everyone in the sequence of statements knew what was going to proceed. There has been huge damage done by the unionists stepping out of that."

He also insisted that the IICD should not be put under pressure. "The integrity and the independence of the Commission (IICD) should be accepted," he said.

Saturday, 25 October, 2003

Trimble Seeks Surrender

By NiallO’Dowd

THE outrageous behavior of David Trimble in turning down the carefully choreographed deal put together by the parties in the North and the British and Irish governments is an utter disgrace.

Trimble had signed on to the deal put together so painstakingly over a period of months since the breakdown of negotiations last April, just when a deal seemed in sight.

Since then the two governments and all the parties involved, including the U.S., have worked night and day to make the restoration of the Stormont power sharing government a reality. Trimble has now severely damaged their efforts with his latest stunt.

The destruction of a huge cache of IRA weapons on Tuesday should have officially ended Europe’s longest running conflict, yet it was not good enough for Trimble.

What he is clearly seeking is surrender from the IRA, not an agreed sequence of placing arms beyond use. He apparently wants to humiliate and grind down the Republican movement to the point where he can reassure his own backwoodsmen that he will never compromise with the other side.

Instead of blaming the IRA this time, he absurdly blamed General John de Chastelain, head of the international decommissioning body, for not being specific enough in his comments about what exactly the IRA had put beyond use.

Let’s get one thing straight. De Chastelain received a mandate from the two governments and all the parties in Northern Ireland, including Trimble’s, to oversee, under very specific conditions, the decommissioning of weapons.

One of those conditions, agreed to by all the parties, was confidentiality in the process of destroying the weapons. It was quite obviously a very necessary provision given the highly secret nature of the arms disposal process.

Let us also remember who de Chastelain is, a highly decorated general in the Canadian Army who has been in Northern Ireland for several years and has won widespread respect for his probity and integrity.

If de Chastelain says large qualities of arms have been destroyed then he must be taken at his word. There is simply no other way that the process can work.

Trimble, however, seems intent on being the bull in the china shop every time there is a prospect of a lasting peace being negotiated.

Once again he has pulled back at the last second and left a devastated peace process in his wake. It now appears he intended to pull this stunt all along, sucking in the Irish and British governments and the Nationalist parties into his plan.

All is not lost, we hope, and already there is a major effort to receive some clarification on the IRA arms issue between now and next Wednesday, when Trimble will hold a special meeting of his party to discuss.

How could Republicans trust Trimble ever again, however, given this escapade? Having pushed the IRA to the very limit, the Sinn Fein leadership is left with major questions about their strategy and whether it is even worthwhile to engage Unionism at all.

But they should not mistake Trimble’s intransigence with the end of the deal. For too long Unionism has held its veto over every development in Northern Ireland.

It is time the two governments made it clear that if they have to go without them and institute a form of joint sovereignty they will do so. They must realize there has now been more than enough game playing by Trimble.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003 may go down in history with other red letter dates in this most extraordinary of peace processes, or it may be remembered as the final blow to a process that has been reeling for some time. The next week will tell much.

Friday, 24 October, 2003

The Politics of Public Humiliation in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland- the Agreement that Wasn't

By Harry Browne

At the beginning of this week the world was hailing an unlikely breakthrough in Northern Ireland. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly would go ahead, albeit six months late, and the talks between the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Fein had resulted in extraordinary long-reaching agreements about how the North would be governed after the elections. (Assuming the cooperation of voters in returning them as the two largest parties).

Among other things, it was reported that the parties had agreed that by April 2005, a former IRA adjutant-general, Gerry Kelly, would be Northern Ireland's Minister for Justice, with responsibility for policing. The mind boggled. And on Monday night and Tuesday morning, the assembled politicians were confident that the British government would pour enough patronage into the North before the November 26th elections to ensure that sceptical unionist voters would cast their lots with such an apparently unpleasant scenario.

All that remained was what everyone called a 'choreographed' series of events over the course of Tuesday, with the key steps involving some IRA disarmament and the confirmation of that fact by the international body responsible for such 'decommissioning'.

By Tuesday evening the exercise had failed, and journalists vied over choreography metaphors. "Riverdance without a rehearsal" probably captured best the widespread sentiment that the show had been ill-prepared, too much too soon.

With the distance of a few days, however, Tuesday's collapse of the process looks less like a cock-up, and more like a trap, with the IRA as the prey. Unionist leader David Trimble halted the process on Tuesday in apparent injured innocence about the IRA holding out on decommissioning, and commentators as far afield as the Wall Street Journal's editorial page have joined in the republican-bashing.

But it's clear now that Trimble already knew what to expect from the IRA, but reckoned he, and the British government, could use the pressure of the 'collapse' to turn the screw and get more.

At issue is the question of confidentiality, and behind that the spectre of 'surrender'. In order for unionists to accept Sinn Fein, the IRA-linked party, into a power-sharing government, they have needed to see signs of the IRA giving up its weapons and 'the war'. But in order for Sinn Fein to avoid a split in its ranks, and (more dangerously) the ranks of the IRA, it needed to steer clear of a public arms hand-over, despite most of a decade when the IRA has been officially on ceasefire.

The means to square this circle is the 'Independent International Commission on Decommissioning', chaired by a Canadian general, John de Chastelain. This commission has been invited to witness, and vouch for, secret acts by which weapons are 'put beyond use'.

The IRA carried out such an act this week, for the third time. The general said it was significant; he gave some additional details privately to Tony Blair and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, who agreed with him. But, de Chastelain said, the IRA had invoked its right to confidentiality and he could not provide an itemised list of weapons.

This lack of 'transparency' was Trimble's breaking point, and the 'breakthrough' was abandoned, at least for the moment. However, by Thursday Trimble was admitting that he and the two government leaders knew all along that such shyness was likely. He relied, he said, on assurances "that the British government would strongly support us on the issues of timescale [a schedule for IRA winding-down] and transparency".

He was right, as Tony Blair quickly called for more decommissioning information to be released publicly. Bertie Ahern didn't chime in public agreement, but behind-the-scenes efforts began to pressurise the IRA and de Chastelain on the issue.

The latter were holding out, to be sure. Late Thursday, a spokesman for the commission said the general and the other commissioners would quit if forced to reveal the details of disarmament without the IRA's agreement. "With regards to confidentiality, if the commissioners were forced to disclose the inventory without the IRA agreeing to it, they would judge their position to be untenable."

The elections will still go ahead, but with no notion of how a power-sharing government might be agreed afterwards. Nationalist voters are likely to endorse Sinn Fein as their favoured representative, but it remains to be seen if Trimble's initial apparent deal, then his conspicuous 'standing up' to the IRA, will gain him votes among unionists. They might still be inclined to support either his own party's dissidents, or Ian Paisley's more hardline Democratic Unionist Party, who will again accuse Trimble of having supped with the devil.

And all of this over an issue, decommissioning, which risks driving more republicans into factions that oppose such deal-making, who would not countenance any 'surrender', who could even reinvigorate 'the war'. As Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has warned: "One man's 'transparent act of decommissioning' is another man's public humiliation."

Harry Browne writes for The Irish Times and CounterPunch and is a lecturer in the school of media at Dublin Institute of Technology.

Wednesday, 22 October, 2003

Trimble has blown it

Comment

The Unionist volte-face has provoked fury on all sides and left Gerry Adams hopelessly exposed

By Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian

As every choreographer will admit, even the most meticulously planned performances can end up in a tangle of legs and arms on the dance floor. Yesterday in Belfast was that kind of show.

Things started well enough. London announced that elections for Northern Ireland's devolved assembly were to go ahead next month, a move aimed at ending the year-long suspension of the institution. That was meant to be the first step in a sequence that, according to the dizziest expectations, would bring a republican declaration that "the war is over", followed by a bonfire of IRA arms and a long, tight hug of Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and the Ulster Unionists' David Trimble. Watching over them would be the British and Irish prime ministers, there to give the once warring parties a benign smile and their blessing. It would, promised Downing Street, be the biggest day since the Good Friday agreement of 1998. And all in time for the evening news.

But that's not how things worked out. Adams did his part, delivering an extraordinary speech, insisting that although republicans had not abandoned their ultimate goal of a united Ireland, they had put aside violence as a means of getting there. The key line was Adams's declaration of a "total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means" and his insistence that "We are opposed to any use or threat of force for any political purpose." But those were not lonely soundbites. Throughout, he repeated that dialogue and argument were now republicanism's weapons. Adams, famed as a former IRA commander, said he was now committed to playing a leadership role in ending "physical force republicanism". The act of IRA disarmament that followed, the organisation's largest yet, was the deed designed to underpin Adams's words.

So far so good. But then came the public announcement from the decommissioning overseer, General John de Chastelain. He did not have any video footage to show, offering only a terse, uninspiring account of what he had seen at a location so secret he had no idea where it was.

That was not enough for Trimble. Instead of stepping forward for his part of the peace dance - a set of statements promising a Unionist return to government, even alongside Sinn Féin - he declared the general's statement a "failure" that would do nothing to change "public opinion". That phrase reveals Trimble's thinking. He wanted a declaration so striking that the Unionist mood would shift instantly. Ditching their previous scepticism about the peace process, Unionists would see the prize he had wrung out of the republicans - their very arsenal! - and send Trimble back to Stormont with a thumping majority.

Allies of the UUP leader are adamant that he was genuinely ready to make his move yesterday, if only De Chastelain had gone further. But that's not how his opponents see it. Anti-agreement Unionists accuse him of stunning naivety for ever believing that he would extract transparent disarmament from the IRA. He shouldn't have trusted Adams in those serial meetings the two men had over the past weeks and months (even shaking hands in July). In the words of the Paisleyite Willie McCrea yesterday: "If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."

But those who wanted yesterday to work are also livid with Trimble. They say the Unionist leader must have known what kind of statement De Chastelain would give. The general was merely following the rules of the decommissioning body, which allow paramilitaries confidentiality. No, say these critics, Trimble simply got a last-minute attack of cold feet. He could not complain that the Adams and IRA statements had not gone far enough; remarkably, and in a sign of how close the two sides had come until yesterday, he had seen and approved those republican texts. The only person he could blame for failing to deliver was the Canadian general - so he did.

The result is fury at Trimble from all sides. He has left almost everyone else in the Northern Ireland peace process exposed. The British government yesterday set a date for elections that they hoped would unfreeze the assembly; now London could be in the desperate position of either organising a poll for a body that is in permanent suspension or cancelling, yet again, a democratic ballot. More basically, it makes Tony Blair look a fool to have made his move before everything else was in place. Last night the prime minister was doing his best to be bullish, calling Trimble's volte-face a mere "hitch", but he must be boiling with anger and frustration.

Which does not even come close to a description of the mood among republicans. On Monday night, they were full of admiration for the Unionist leader, praising his political longevity and recognising him as the sole face of progressive Unionism. They spoke warmly of the personal trust he had built with Adams, in parallel with an emerging relationship between Martin McGuinness and Sir Reg Empey.

Last night, those plaudits had turned to contempt. Hardliners will interpret Trimble's rejection of De Chastelain not as a reasonable request for the disclosure of more information, but, as one republican told me, an attempt to see "the IRA's surrender and humiliation". It is surely a fantasy to imagine that the IRA might now authorise De Chastelain to reveal the extra details that could help Trimble. Republicans believe the UUP leader has revealed himself as fundamentally unserious about peace and power sharing, bent instead on bragging of victory.

In this, yesterday's timing is crucial. Gerry Adams had already made his no-to-violence speech in the morning, setting out how far republicans were prepared to go. The IRA had formally endorsed it. And yet, thanks to Trimble's afternoon about-turn, they now have nothing to show for it. They have stripped themselves naked, only to discover their imagined partner has turned all the lights on and left the room.

Blair will probably direct his pressure now in two places. He may be working on the decommissioning chief to see if he can eke out some mood-shifting language without breaking his undertaking to the IRA. And the PM will lean on Trimble, urging him to get real.

Blair would certainly have a powerful argument. What happened in the early part of yesterday was an extraordinarily good deal for Unionists. They heard republicanism lay down its arms, rhetor ically and actually. They saw their battle with the idea of a united Ireland reduced from a war to a political dispute, settled not by bombs but by debate. That is a great prize.

But Trimble could have had a narrower reward, too. With a deal struck with nationalists and republicans, he could have entered the coming election campaign on a positive platform, promising a future of self-rule and partnership across the divide. Instead he has made the UUP once again the "me, too" party, a pale imitation of Ian Paisley's rejectionist DUP.

It all counts as a tragically wasted opportunity. There are not many conflicts in the world where one side renounces violence and scraps its weapons. Unionists should think of those troublespots where, unlike today's Northern Ireland, bombing, killing and maiming still happen every day - and realise what a chance they just blew.

Wednesday, 22 October, 2003

The end of a shortlived friendship

In the past few weeks the unionist and the republican leaders came closer than ever before - until last night

By Rosie Cowan, Ireland correspondent, The Guardian

It was the day that was meant to go like clockwork, the day Tony Blair, 48 hours after his health scare, flew to Hillsborough to rubberstamp the deal that would resurrect the Northern Irish peace process.

But by teatime, it was obvious that what should have been a perfectly choreographed two-step between unionists and republicans, founded upon a newly forged sense of trust between the two sides' leaders, David Trimble and Gerry Adams, was falling apart and the five-year-old Good Friday agreement was back on its sickbed.

Mr Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, flatly rejected the report on IRA disarmament as not good enough, declaring that he had even less confidence in the process than before General John de Chastelain, the head of the independent decommissioning body, had spoken.

The general revealed that a significant amount of light, medium and heavy weapons, explosives and ammunition had been destroyed, enough, according to his colleague, Andrew Sens, to cause "death and destruction on a huge scale".

But it seems the newfound trust carefully nurtured between Mr Trimble and Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, over the past few weeks, has been blown away by the republican refusal to allow the general to spell out the types and exact quantities of the arms put beyond use.

The day started as planned with an early morning Downing Street announcement that an election to revive the suspended power-sharing Stormont assembly would take place on November 26. A couple of hours later, Gerry Adams, flanked by Sinn Fein's electoral team, took the podium at a west Belfast hotel.

While he was never going to use the blunt phrase unionists most wanted to hear - that the IRA "war is over" - he said the Provisionals wanted the "full and irreversible implementation of the Good Friday agreement in all its aspects" which would "provide a full and final closure of the conflict".

When he spoke of reaching out to unionists, trying to understand their hopes and fears, explaining republican views to them and striving together for equality, he was no doubt reflecting the fresh insight he has gleaned during the dozen or so meetings he and Mr Trimble have had in the past few weeks.

Before last night's contretemps, it seemed the relationship had come a long way since the frostiness of a few months ago. During the negotiations that led to the April 1998 peace agreement, the two men did not meet at all, and until this summer they did so infrequently. In his new book, Hope and History, Mr Adams describes a chance encounter with Mr Trimble in the toilets in the runup to the Good Friday accord where he joked "We must stop meeting like this" only to be rewarded with a withering stare and told to get lost.

Even when the power-sharing coalition was up and running, the relationship between them was always fairly cool, but things went from frosty to glacial after the collapse of Stormont last October.

After claims that the Provisionals had been gun-running in Florida, training terrorists in Colombia and had stolen police special branch files from Castlereagh, allegations of an IRA spy ring at the heart of government were the final straw in breaking unionist trust. The ensuing months were so full of bitter recriminations it was hard to picture Mr Trimble and Mr Adams even sitting down to discussions again.

However, with the future of the peace process dependent on a delicate balance of the unionist and republican ideals the two men represent, some sort of thawing between them was crucial to any pact to restore devolution. A quiet loyalist marching season and a relatively violence-free summer helped to improve the atmosphere, and by September things had improved so dramatically that the two men shook hands for the first time, and started to call each other David and Gerry.

No one ever claimed they would become bosom buddies. But the incontrovertible realisation, that, as Mr Adams put it "Like it or not, we're all in this together", meant they had to cooperate or risk the collapse of everything they had worked for over the past 10 years.

"They don't ask after the wives and families, and they won't be inviting each other round for dinner, but it's definitely much better than it was," a source close to Mr Trimble said yesterday morning.

A republican aide said he would not go so far as to describe the relationship as warm but it was "definitely cordial, a big advance on what went before".

Dissent

The unionist source said that for the first time, Mr Trimble and his team felt republicans were "playing straight" with them, that they knew there was such dissent against Mr Trimble from hardline unionist critics like Jeffrey Donaldson that they knew the IRA had to deliver a deal which would "sell itself" to the unionist electorate.

Unionists were fairly pleased with Mr Adams' speech. It was not as clear cut as they would have liked but it was what they were expecting, and the jigsaw would be completed by an IRA statement and the de Chastelain report.

The anticipated announcement from the Provisionals' spokesman P O'Neill came at lunchtime.

It simply stated that Mr Adams had accurately reflected its position and that it had authorised a third act of weapons destruction overseen by the international decommissioning body under the agreed scheme. It later confirmed that this had been carried out.

These two elements were never going to be enough in themselves to carry unionist opinion, but expectations were still high and all eyes were now on General de Chastelain.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister, had arrived at Hillsborough Castle ready to publicly pat the two sides on the back once the general had spoken and Mr Trimble had given a positive response.

But by mid-afternoon, just as the cool autumn sunshine darkened into a hail shower, it seemed things were suddenly going badly wrong.

The general gave a press conference inside Hillsborough, an hour after he was scheduled to speak, stating that he had witnessed a substantial amount of arms being destroyed "somewhere on the island of Ireland".

But if the media's frustration at the lack of detail he was able to give about this was palpable, it was nothing compared to Mr Trimble's. With no sign of the two prime ministers, word soon spread that the Ulster Unionist leader was far from happy with the lack of transparency in the decommissioning report.

First, he was rumoured to be on his way to Hillsborough for an emergency summit with the prime ministers. Then he dramatically appeared in front of the cameras at unionist headquarters in east Belfast to announce his deep disappointment in the lack of detail in the de Chastelain report and to chastise republicans who "foolishly" imposed restrictions on what the decommissioning body chief could reveal.

He declared himself less satisfied with the peace process than before the day began, regretted he could not make the positive statement he had intended to on the restoration of devolution and said he was putting things "on hold" until he had consulted his party's ruling council on October 29.

Republicans are furious at the rejection of what they considered a massive move on decommissioning. Mr Adams said he was surprised and disappointed at Mr Trimble's rejection and admitted he did not know how to rectify the situation. The fledgling friendship, it appears, is in tatters.

Wednesday, 22 October, 2003

Talks end in recrimination

By Republican News

Another effort to rescue the Good Friday Agreement has come unglued after the Ulster Unionistsr once again reneged on a major deal involving the two governments, Sinn Fein, the IRA and the Ulster Unionists.

A surprise objection by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to a statement by General John de Chastelain -- in which he outlined the third major act of disarmament by the IRA -- meant that a day that began filled with hope for a new dawn ended in a bad-tempered political melee.

Just hours after it was confirmed that the IRA had put more weapons and explosives beyond use than ever before, Mr Trimble said the process had lacked the transparency he had expected and refused to co-operate further.

After "a long day, a long week, and a long month", Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said he wanted his comments to remain restrained.

He expressed his party's profound disappointment at this evening's developments but said that Sinn Fein remained fully committed to finding a way to break the current impasse.

He drew attention to the significance of the republican statements in the morning, historic statements which have failed to yield the expected quid-pro-quo.

In a keynote speech earlier, he said Sinn Fein's position was "one of total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences. We are opposed to any use or threat of force for any political purpose."

He said that "implementation by the two Governments and the parties of their commitments under the Agreement provide the context in which Irish Republicanism and Unionists will as equals pursue their objectives peacefully, thus providing full and final closure of the conflict."

That speech was significantly endorsed by the IRA, which said that it accurately reflected its own position.

"For 30 years people in this part of Ireland have been killing each other on a daily basis," said Mr Adams. "Had such a statement been made 20, 10 or even five years ago, it would have been seen as a miracle," he said.

He said it was possible that "whatever is done will not be good enough because there is an element of politicians in this part of the world who are against change," he said.

He said he did not know how a resolution could be found, and stressed that the ground rules laid down for the IICD commission on arms decommissioning -- which allow for specific details of the acts to remain confidential -- had to be respected.

"I do not know how a report prepared by a Commission which was set up by the governments can be changed, corrected, nuanced or operated upon to suit the needs of any particular party at this time.

"I do not know how when one party unilaterally moves to suspend the sequence, how this can be put back together again in the short term."

At the end of the fruitless talks this evening, he summed up one view of the problem by warning that one man's "transparancy" is another man's "humiliation".

Mr Adams said there were profound difficulties in resolving the problems. But he added that Mr Trimble should not have been in any doubt about what had been agreed.

"There could not have been, under any circumstances any misunderstanding at all," he said "Do you think that the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach would have flown in had there not been an agreement, had there not been an agreed sequence?"

PRIME MINISTERS FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE

It is a huge set back for London and Dublin who had talked up hopes of a major political breakthrough.

In April, the negotiations were said to be fifty minutes away from a historic deal, and this evening saw a similarly narrow miss.

At a joint press conference earlier this evening, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair said they would continue working in an effort to resolve the current "glitch" in the peace process.

"It wouldn't be the Northern Ireland peace process without the odd glitch to come along," Mr Blair said.

He said the UUP wanted "a greater degree of particularity as to what [arms] was actually put beyond use."

At the end of tonight's talkm, Mr Blair said he was disappointed at what had happened but was hopeful that the issue could be resolved.

"I believe that if people knew the information that we have been told, yes they would be satisfied," he said. "But it is also the case that the commission enter into certain agreements with the bodies that do the decommissioning.

"One part of that agreement, as they are entitled to do under the legislation, was a confidentiality clause on the exact

Mr Blair and Mr Ahern stressed at the end of talks that all other areas of agreement remained intact, and that the election would indeed go ahead on November 26th.

David Trimble said today he would allow a week for the necessary "certainty" on decommissioning to be provided. However, in the current dark mood, it is thought unlikely that a resolution will be found before the election.

TODAY'S EVENTS

7 a.m. British government announces elections will take place on November 26th

10.30 a.m. Gerry Adams insists republicans are committed to peaceful means

Midday IRA issues statement saying it has authorised a further act of putting arms beyond use

3 p.m. IRA issues second statement confirming a new act of weapons decommissioning

4 p.m. Gen John de Chastelain confirms the IRA has carried out a third and substantial act of decommissioning

5.30 p.m. David Trimble says IRA decommissioning is not transparent enough and his party will be putting the process on hold

6.15 p.m. Blair and Ahern commit to working through the current 'glitch'

9.45 p.m. At the end of talks, the talks participants reveal that no quick fix was found.

Tuesday-Wednesday, 21-22 October, 2003

The deal that never was

By Republican News

Efforts resumed today to rescue a deal with the potential to revive the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, with the Irish and British governments coming under pressure from both Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists.

Despite yesterday's derailment of the choreographed moves, the British government has not changed plans for the Assembly election to go ahead on November 26.

Northern Secretary Paul Murphy made a statement in the House of Commons today confirming the elections.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair could help retrieve the stalled peace process deal in the North of Ireland by making a statement stating the IRA has been fully compliant with disarmament procedures, Sinn Fein said today.

The party's national chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, said he believed the deal which faltered yesterday over a lack of transparency over weapons decommissioning was still salvageable.

Mr McLaughlin said: "If Tony Blair were to make a statement that the IRA was in full compliance with the agreed scheme, agreed with General John de Chastelain and also agreed with all the political parties including David Trimble's, if the two Governments were to put their authority on the line and say this scheme is being followed by republicans if not the loyalist organisations, then we can retrieve the situation."

But concerns are mounting that the deal was never meant to succeed, and that the necessary good faith wasn't there.

These concerns were reinforced by the comments of the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, today.

Mr Ahern told the Irish Parliament in Dublin he was deeply frustrated. But he added: "I'm not into recriminations that will get me absolutely nowhere."

He said he feared General John de Chastelain's report on IRA disarmament would not be enough to satisfy the Ulster Unionists, and revealed he had been reluctant to go to Hillsborough Castle yesterday.

But Mr Ahern said he had been unable to contact General de Chastelain to discuss the matter.

It also emerged that the British government was well aware of Mr Ahern's concerns, but was inexplicably determined to proceed with arrangements. The arrangements had also been discussed and agreed in advance with Ulster Unionist David Trimble, who pulled the plug without warning in an announcement to the media at 6pm yesterday evening.

DAY OF DECEPTION?

Yesterday's extraordinary events began with the confirmation by the British government that elections to the Belfast Assembly would finally be allowed to go ahead on November 26th.

There followed a historic statement by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams intended to pave the way for the full and final closure of the conflict. Later, two statements by the IRA that it had again put arms beyond use was followed by independent confirmation by the de Chastelain arms body that it had witnessed the largest act of decommissioning yet.

But this unexpectedly proved insufficient for Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble. He demanded an itemised list of the arms destroyed, something which had not been agreed beforehand and was not delivered by the head of the arms body, General John de Chastelain.

The predictably petulant unionist leader then said he would "suspend" the carefully choreographed sequence of events instead of making a commitment to supporting a restoration of the North's power-sharing institutions.

Today, Mr Trimble urged the British Prime Minister to intervene to unilaterally break the confidentiality clause under which the decommissioning process operates, and reveal the arms involved in the latest act.

Trimble said: "All I can do is refer you to what the Prime Minister said, that he thought if the people in Northern Ireland knew what he knew, they would be satisfied.

"There is clearly an obvious response to make that the Prime Minister should put the knowledge that he has in the public domain."

The British and Irish government are aware that any move by them to breach confidentiality could scupper the decommissioning scheme altogether.

Nevertheless, with a critically important election in five weeks, Trimble could stand to gain by what will be perceived as his hardline stance, while Sinn Fein might lose out to their nationalist rivals in the SDLP for the same reason.

Some republicans believe that a public catalog of the decommissioning process will invariably lead to accusations -- and material for the possible future expulsion of Sinn Fein from the Assembly -- that some arms had not been decommissioned.

But others believe Mr Trimble and others are making impossible demands, effectively asking for the humiliation of the IRA and a symbolic victory.

But the most serious casualty of yesterday's developments was the tentative trust which had developed between Mr Adams and Mr Trimble.

The prospect of a 'win-win' pre-election deal for both parties now seems distant. The dilemma now centres around a 'zero sum' stand-off and, despite the ongoing talks, could prove intractable in the short term.

While negotiators met to discuss how to repair the damage done to their deal, unionist hardliners were cheered at the development.

Ulster Unionist dissident MP Jeffrey Donaldson insisted that Mr Trimble had been "hung out to dry" by republicans.

DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson described yesterday`s unravelling of the deal as a "shambles".

He argued: "The events of yesterday highlight the total shambles and incompetence at the heart of the Ulster Unionist Party.

"Through its actions, it has once again demonstrated that it is not fit to negotiate for unionism.

"Their new slogan should not be 'Simply British'. I think it should be replaced by 'Simply Stupid'."

Mark Durkan, leader of the SDLP, urged the IRA to remove the confidentiality obligation to get the peace process back on track.

Mr Durkan said: "I don't think public confidence loses anything by the IRA waiving that right to confidentiality."

He added: "Let us get in the public domain everything that the public have a right to have in the public domain."

He also objected to his party's "exclusion" from talks leading up to the deal.

However, there was the perception, even before yesterday's debacle, that his party would only gain by its distance from what may have been a doomed negotiation process.

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

Elections set for November 26

By Republican News

A number of media outlets have stated that the twice-cancelled elections to the Belfast Assembly will take place in the North on Wednesday the 26th of November.

Hopes of a breakthrough in the peace process have been rising steadily through the past few days.

The extent of the deal is expected to be revealed tomorrow, but it is widely expected to involve, on some scale, a peace move by the IRA in return for the continued implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The head of the international decommissioning body, General John de Chastelain, has resumed contact with the IRA on arms, it has been reported.

The Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair are expected to travel to Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast tomorrow for an offical announcement.

The decision comes after a series of talks between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party to secure agreement on issues crucial to creating a climate for elections.

Earlier, Bertie Ahern said that further progress has been made in the Northern peace talks.

He confirmed that he had a lengthy telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, this morning and he is due to talk to him again this evening.

The Taoiseach said that the next 24 hours would be crucial and that there was a deadline of Wednesday morning for talks.

Mr Ahern said the key issues were the stability of the institutions on the one side and the endgame of paramilitarism on the other.

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

Adams to speak following confirmation of election

By Republican News

The British government has confirmed this morning that Assembly elections in the North of Ireland will take place on November 26th.

A deal involving Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party and the British government is being unveiled today.

Minutes after Downing Street confirmed the election date, Sinn Fein announced that party president Mr Gerry Adams would speak in a Belfast hotel at around 10.30 a.m. in what is expected to be a historic address.

The Irish and British Prime Ministers are to arrive at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast this afternoon in a series of choreographed events.

The Ulster Unionist Party is to declare a commitment to work the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, and there will be a British commitment on demilitarisation of its armed forces in Ireland.

A statement by the IRA that is has put arms beyond use is also expected and it will comment on its future military stance.

It is understood that Mr Trimble has convened a meeting of his party officers for 8.30 a.m. to seek their agreement to convene a meeting of the ruling Ulster Unionist Council on October 29th.

Mr Ahern and Mr Tony Blair are scheduled to give a joint press conference at Hillsborough Castle in the afternoon, where they will urge the pro-agreement parties to unite behind the deal.

Mr Blair is also due to issue commitments about demilitarisation, human rights, equality issues and other matters.

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

By Republican News

Address by Gerry Adams at Balmoral Hotel

The following is the text of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams speech in the Balmoral Hotel this morning.

I welcome this morning's announcement of an Assembly election on November 26th.

This was a point of principle and a core issue for Sinn Fein.

It is the context for today's developments.

The people assembled here today will be representing Sinn Fein.

We will be seeking an endorsement of our strategy and of the positions I will outline today.

I appeal to the electorate to use their vote and to use it wisely in support of a continuing process of change and a peaceful and just future for all our people.The last 10 years of the peace process, and especially the last 5 years, have been a political and emotional rollercoaster ride for republicans and unionists, nationalists and loyalists.

We have been through a lot together.

As republicans we have been faced with enormous challenges.

We have confronted those challenges.

Each year, and sometimes more than once in a year, we have reached what some have described as another 'crossroads' in our struggle.

Some years ago I compared all this to a journey. For us the destination is an Irish republic. Completing the journey means having a political strategy to get us there.

It means engaging with and putting our case to our opponents. It means taking the political offensive, taking initiatives, and engaging in the battle of ideas.

Sinn Fein is a united Ireland party. But being an Irish republican means more than paying lip service to the 1916 Proclamation or to the ideal of 'The Republic.'

It means refusing to stand still. It means taking risks.It means reaching out to others. It means moving forward.

Republicans are not quitters. We have refused to give up.

We have refused to countenance a continuation of division, discrimination or injustice.

We have campaigned, agitated, lobbied and challenged those who want to return to the old failed policies of the past.

We have sought and are seeking to change minds and attitudes. We are trying to build new and better relationships between the people of this island, and between us and the people of Britain.

In recent months, and especially in the last few weeks, the Sinn Fein negotiating team has been involved in intense discussions with the Ulster Unionist Party and the two governments.

Much of the media focus has been on the IRA.

The reality is that all of the participants, and the two governments have significant contributions to make if the institutions are to be restored and the Good Friday Agreement made to work efficiently and effectively.

It isn't just down to republicans. It never was. Making this process work is a collective responsibility. Republicans need to know that the two governments will honour their commitments.

Republicans need to feel confidence in a unionist leadership working the institutions and the Agreement and joining with us as partners in the task of building a better future for our people.

Equally, Unionists need to have confidence in republicans. In this context let me make some remarks about the current situation. The initiatives taken in April and May by republicans to resolve outstanding matters were rejected. There was a lot of justifiable anger about that. But now we need to move on.

The Joint Declaration produced by the two governments at that time has good and positive elements in it, particularly around those aspects of the Agreement which have yet to be implemented. It is generally acknowledged that the focused work of Sinn Fein's negotiating team, led by Martin McGuinness, brought the governments to this position. I want to commend all our team and to thank them for their outstanding contribution.

The commitments in the Joint Declaration to finally resolve the outstanding issues are welcome. These and key issues of the Agreement are about creating a stable society. They include:

Sustainable political institutions.
Equality in all its dimensions.
Acceptable, accountable policing.
The transfer of powers on Justice and Policing.
The demilitarisation of society.
The entrenchment and effective protection of human rights.
The anomalous situation of people On The Run.

Other aspects of the Joint Declaration are unacceptable. The establishment of the so-called International Monitoring Commission is a breach of the Agreement and it contravenes the safeguards built into it. It takes the right of democratic accountability from the elected Assembly and gives the power of sanction and exclusion over political parties in Ireland to a British Minister with no electoral mandate here.

Republicans have worked to have the Good Friday Agreement implemented, not only because that is ourey are determined that their strategies and actions will be consistent with this objective.

Implementation by the two Governments and the parties of their commitments under the Agreement provides the context in which Irish Republicans and Unionists will as equals pursue their objectives peacefully, thus providing full and final closure of the conflict.

Actions and the lack of actions on the ground speak louder than words and I believe that everyone - including the two Governments and the Unionists - can now move forward with confidence.

As President of Sinn Fein, I have set out a peaceful direction which I trust everyone will follow. Sinn Fein's position is one of total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences. We are opposed to any use or threat of force for any political purpose.Sinn Fein wants to see all guns taken out of Irish society.

There is also an onus on the two governments, and particularly the British Government, to underpin and validate the primacy of politics.

I want to appeal directly to those organisations which are not on cessation at this time. While calling on all armed groups to desist I want to appeal especially to organisations which present themselves as Republican. I appeal to them to join with the rest of us, Republicans and Unionists, Nationalists and Loyalists, in taking a leap forward together and collectively building a new future based on justice and peace.

Anyone looking at this situation during the 1960's, the 1970's, the 1980's and for much of the 1990's, could be forgiven for believing that there are some conflicts which simply never end, where distrust and hatred are so much a part of the fabric of the society that things will never change.

But things have changed.

Our success in bringing this about was not a matter of chance, it was a matter of choice. And republicans helped shape and give voice to that choice. For our part Sinn Fein is totally committed to establishing an entirely new, democratic and harmonious future with our unionist neighbours. Like it or not we're all in this together.

Sinn Fein has been involved in intensive discussions with the UUP over recent weeks. This direct and open dialogue between Unionists and Republicans is in itself a profoundly important development and the key to ongoing political progress.

Consequently, we understand the importance of reaching out to unionists, of learning about unionist concerns, fears and aspirations. Of explaining to them how we feel.

One of the big things we have to do together is to tackle the scourge of sectarianism. This remains a huge challenge for unionists and loyalists, republicans and nationalists.

Good work is being done in this regard, particularly at local government level by Sinn Fein representatives, like Armagh Mayor Pat O'Rawe, Mayor Anne Brolly, Councillor Francie Molloy, Mayor Sean McGuigan and former Belfast Mayor Alex Maskey.

This needs to be built on.

It will not be easy, but it is not impossible.

Many unionists, particularly working class unionists, are already conscious of the way in which they have been exploited. Unionist working class areas face enormous social and economic problems. Families, the elderly and the young are weighed down with poverty, deprivation and a sense of despair. This is totally unacceptable.

When Sinn Fein demands equality it is for everyone.

We also have to reach out to those who are in negative mode.

We reject exclusion and isolation. They are the politics of failure.

We have to encourage engagement and to persuade everyone to be part of the process of conflict resolution to be part of the future.

I believe we have the collective knowledge and the means to make this century the most peaceful, prosperous, productive time in the history of Ireland.

The question is do we have the wisdom and the will?

I believe we have.

I believe that together we can build a future of equals on this island. A peaceful future which empowers, and enriches and cherishes all the children of the nation equally. The people of this island have the right to be free. To live free from discrimination and inequality, without violence and conflict.

Sinn Fein means to journey on from there, to be part of building a republic worthy of the suffering and sacrifice of all of those who have gone before us.

I want to appeal to Republicans throughout Ireland and abroad to continue to support Sinn Fein's peace strategy. Initiatives by republicans cause pain and difficulty for all of us.

I know activists will have reservations about much of this. But we have to look at the bigger picture. We have to look towards the common good.

Bobby Sands summed it all up best for me. Despite great hardship, deprivation and physical hurt he never lost sight of his vision for a new Ireland, an Ireland in which our revenge will be the laughter of our children.

It is always easier to begin a journey. The hard thing is to finish it.

Sinn Fein is in this process to the finish.

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

IRA statement on arms

By Republican News

The following is the full text of a statement issued by the IRA in the past hour revealing that is has engaged in a third act of disarmament.

The leadership of the IRA welcomed today's speech by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams in which he accurately reflects our position.

He also referred to the issue of weapons.

The IRA leadership is committed to resolving this issue.

In line with our stated position, we have authorised our representative to meet with the IICD [decommissioning body] with a view to proceeding with the implementation of a process to put arms beyond use at the earliest opportunity.

We have also authorised a further act of putting arms beyond use.

This will be verified under the agreed scheme.

Signed P O'Neill

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

Large tranche of IRA arms destroyed - IICD

By Republican News

The IRA has completed a bigger act of decommissioning than ever before, General John de Chastelain reported today.

The head of the international arms body confirmed he had witnessed a third act in which the mainstream IRA had put weapons beyond use.

Automatic guns, ammunition, explosives and explosives material had all been taken out of circulation, he said.

The move is part of republican efforts to finally secure the implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The Irish and British governments, as well as the Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, are due to make significant statements of their own later today.

In a press conference a short time ago, General de Chastelain said: "The commission has witnessed a third event in which IRA weapons have been put beyond use, in accordance with government schemes and regulations."

Gen de Chastelain said the decommissioning was "considerably larger" than previous disarmaments.

"The quantity of arms involved is much larger than the quantity put beyond use in the previous event," he said.

He said the arms decommissioned comprised light, medium and heavy ordnance and associated munitions including automatic weapons, ammunition, explosives and explosives materiel.

The General and his colleagues on the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) discussed their report after briefing Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish premier Bertie Ahern at Hillsborough Castle.

The disarmament group said they had assured themselves that all the weapons put beyond use were in operational condition.

They intended to add an inventory of the explosives material to a list from the previous act of decommissioning and provide the full list to the two governments.

The amount of arms rendered permanently unusable "could have caused death and destruction" if it had been used, Andrew Sens, one of General de Chastelain's assistants added.

Earlier this afternoon, the IRA issued a second statement confirming that more weapons had been put beyond use.

The one-paragraph statement said:

"The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann can confirm that a further act of putting arms beyond use has taken place under the agreed scheme.

Signed P O'Neill."

Tuesday, 21 October, 2003

Flash: Trimble slams on the brakes

By Republican News

The Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has put his support for a breakthrough deal in the peace process "on hold", insisting his party had not had an adequate report from the international body on decommissioning.

He said it was not clear that the IRA had carried out a transparent and significant act of decommissioning, and accused the IRA of "foolishly" preventing the release of details of its latest act to put arms beyond use.

He said he was putting today's sequence of planned announcements on hold and that the Ulster Unionists would hold a special meeting.

Earlier today, Mr de Chastelain reported that a large quantity of light, medium and heavy ordnance weaponry had been decommissioned in twhat would be the largest such act in the North of Ireland.

After meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at Hillsborough Castle, he said that "the amounts involved are considerably larger than before".

Challenged about what he meant by light, medium and heavy ordnance weaponry General de Chastelein, while remarking the right of the IRA to confidentiality, added: ``This could include commercial explosives and home-made explosives.

"It also might include detonator fuses and power units." Machine guns and semi-automatics could also fall under this category, he explained.

But Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble expressed disappointment. In an apparent setback to the peace process, Mr Trimble claimed the choreography around the IRA move had not gone according to plan.

"There is a clear agreement between us and republicans that there should be greater transparency.

"We had made it very clear to republicans, to the governments and to General John de Chastelain that what we need in this situation was a clear transparent report of major acts of decommissioning of a nature which would have a significant impact on public opinion and demonstrate we were in a different context.

"Unfortunately we have not had that."

Mr Trimble said he would consult party colleagues about issuing a fresh notice for a meeting of the party's 900-member ruling council next Wednesday to study developments in the peace process.

While praising the speech earlier today by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, which he indicated had met his requirements, he said he required a more public action of disarmament by the IRA.

"There may possibly have been those substantial acts of decommissioning but we have not had the transparency or an adequate report," he said.

"Now under the agreed sequence the next step would have been a number of statements from myself about our desire to see the administration go forward and our willingness to enter into an administration again.

"Everybody knows about my desire in this respect and everybody knows how we have worked over the last number of weeks in order to have meaningful elections to an assembly that formed an administration.

"Because of the result of what the IICD (the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning) has done we probably now have less confidence in the process that we had an hour ago.

"Because of that I regret that I am not in a position to make those statements.

"We are now in effect putting the sequence on hold."