Hain in new push for peace in Ulster
New Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain was tonight preparing to travel to Belfast where achieving a permanent peace settlement has been made a priority of Labour’s third term.
With the British general election out of the way, he takes over the reigns at Stormont with a brief from Prime Minister Tony Blair to inject fresh emphasis into the search for a political settlement and the restoration of devolved government.
He spent much of the weekend in telephone contact with the local political party leaders and wants to get full blown talks under way as soon as possible.
Mr Hain is convinced that with effort and goodwill on all sides it is possible to “crack this problem”.
He said today: “I want to work very actively with all the leaders and indeed all the different representatives in the coming weeks and months to try and get this peace agreement back on the road to a permanent settlement.”
Mr Hain added: “The (British) Prime Minister told me on Friday night when he appointed me it was an absolute priority for him.
“We are determined to take it forward and you just need to rebuild trust.” However it is unlikely to be a straightforward affair – it never is in Northern Ireland politics. Goodwill and trust are rare commodities much of the time.
The increased mandate for the Rev Ian Paisley and his hardline Democratic Unionist party and its rout of the Ulster Unionists prompting the resignation of David Trimble, has changed the political landscape.
Mr Hain admitted there had been “increasing polarisation” in the outcome of the election, but said it was the continuation of a trend which had been set in previous elections.
The DUP is determined not to make the mistakes of the UUP and take anything on trust from republicans.
They are insisting there is no place in government for “terrorists, paramilitaries or criminals” and that IRA guns must have been verifiably destroyed and its activities confirmed to have been halted for good before Sinn Fein can sit down with them and share power.
Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern made contact with Mr Hain today and they agreed to meet as soon as possible.
“Mr Ahern and Mr Hain agreed to meet as quickly as possible to set out a clear agenda for progress out of the current stalemate,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Minister.
“They spoke about the need to secure a way forward that is based on exclusively peaceful and democratic means and on a real commitment by all parties to partnership politics,” he added.
However reports from Dublin that the IRA is still training and recruiting despite Gerry Adams’ pre-election call for them to commit totally to democratic and peaceful activity – will not make Mr Hain’s job any easier.
The claims are said to be contained in the fifth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, which was set up by the British and Irish Governments to monitor paramilitary activity.
This latest report was presented to the two governments ten days ago, but will not be published until later in the month.
The Northern Ireland Office refused to be drawn on the content of the report today, but confirmed it had been received and would be published in due course.
A spokeswoman said: “We are required by law to lay it before Parliament, but it was not possible to do so because Parliament had risen for the election campaign.
“It will be published as soon as practicable, after the Queen’s Speech on May 17.”
However if the content is as suggested from Dublin it will make the prospects of an agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin even more unlikely for the foreseeable future.
Mr Hain will also not be aided by the disarray in which the Ulster Unionist Party finds itself after its trouncing at the polls.
The search for a new leader following the inevitable resignation of David Trimble will make it difficult for them to focus fully on the political process in the immediate future.
