'Intellect' needed to solve Ulster deadlock
All sides in Northern Ireland need to use their intellect to find a way through the deadlock over IRA disarmament, a senior British government minister insisted today.
Before he briefed Cabinet colleagues on the failure to achieve a comprehensive landmark peace process deal between the Rev Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said he was not discouraged by what had happened.
He said: “The fact is that we were almost there. We have a last bit of the mountain to scale.
“It is an important issue that is difficult but I do not see why we cannot crack it in the end.
“The issue over decommissioning is one of confidence and transparency.
“We have to bring all our intellect from across the political spectrum to bear on how to deal with this issue.”
Earlier today, the IRA revealed that it had approved the presence of two civilian witnesses to a future act of disarmament.
But the organisation accused Democratic Unionist leader Mr Paisley of trying to humiliate it by demanding photographic evidence of the destruction of weapons.
The IRA has said photographs of weapons decommissioning were never possible.
Mr Murphy said today that he had not been discouraged by the comments of politicians in Northern Ireland following the failure to achieve a comprehensive deal.
He said: “The fact is that people in Northern Ireland should not despair because we have agreed so much.
“The parties have agreed a host of issues on the operation of the Assembly, on the power-sharing Executive and policing and the IRA has also agreed to the presence of two witnesses, two clergymen, which is an advance.
“We have just got to get past the remaining stumbling block on decommissioning.”
Mr Murphy confirmed he would meet the Northern Ireland parties in the middle of next week alongside Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern.
The British and Irish governments will also host an intergovernmental conference in London next Thursday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern would also meet on the fringes of a Council of European leaders meeting.
“There is going to be a lot of activity in the weeks ahead, so we can crack this,” Mr Murphy added.
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