DUP refusing to attend talks with Ahern and Hain
14/11/2005 - 07:26:34The Democratic Unionist Party is refusing to attend talks at Hillsborough Castle today designed to push forward the peace process in the North.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern and Northern Secretary Peter Hain were hoping to meet Sinn Féin and the DUP for separate talks today as part of a series of meetings with the main players in the process.
However, the DUP is refusing to attend, saying the two men already know its position on the central issues.
The party is demanding a range of concessions from the British government that it says are necessary to restore unionist confidence in the peace process.
A spokesman has described today's talks as nothing more than a stock-taking exercise designed to give the impression of progress.
