'Paramilitaries must move towards disarmament'

The Northern Ireland Higher and Further Education Minister told an international conference of Methodist schools, colleges and universities in Belfast that while progress had been made in the Weston Park talks last week on issues like policing, there was no movement on the arms issue.

The North Antrim MLA warned that the lack of progress on loyalist and republican weapons was posing a genuine threat to the province’s political institutions.

He said: "Opportunities provided by the Good Friday Agreement to move rapidly to a situation in which violence and the threat of violence was absent, have not been taken.

"In real terms this comes down to the fact that there has been no progress on decommissioning by any of the paramilitaries, loyalist or republican.

"While genuine criticisms could be levelled regarding other parts of the Agreement - other elements have to a greater or lesser degree moved forward."

Mr Farren claimed real progress was being made towards the establishment of a new police service which could enjoy the support and allegiance of unionists and nationalists.

The SDLP, he said, was confident all remaining problems could be resolved.

The party was looking forward to the two Governments’ proposals, expected within the next fortnight, and he trusted there would be a "very positive response" to them.

The minister continued: "The only satisfactory outcome of the current process involves the complete and transparent implementation of all elements of the Agreement.

"The parties to the Agreement share a collective as well as an individual responsibility to do all they can to deliver on those aspects of the Agreement for which they have most direct responsibility."

The Governments have until August 12 to find a formula on decommissioning, policing, security normalisation and the operation of the political institutions which can satisfy unionists, moderate nationalists and republicans.

In the wake of Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble’s resignation on July 1 from the Northern Ireland Exective, the Assembly will have to be recalled by August 12 to vote a new First and Deputy First Minister.

Failure to achieve that will result in fresh Assembly elections.

Unionists are insisting there must be actual movement on the putting of IRA weapons beyond use if power sharing with Sinn Fein is to return.

Sinn Fein believes for that to happen, there must be the full implementation of the Patten Commission’s report on police reform, a ban on plastic bullets, the scaling down of Army operations and fortifications in republican heartlands like south Armagh and a guarantee that their ministers will be able to carry out their full functions.

It was claimed yesterday the two Governments are also considering in their package of proposals to appoint an international judge to examine whether independent inquiries should be held into a number of controversial murders.

For nationalists and republicans, these include allegations of security force collusion in the murder of solicitors Pat Finucane in February 1989 and Rosemary Nelson in March 1999 and the failure of police to intervene when Portadown Catholic Robert Hamill was beaten by a loyalist mob in May 1997.

For unionists and loyalists, this would mean examining the killing of Loyalist Volunteer Force commander Billy Wright in the Maze Prison in December 1997 and allegations of garda collusion in the IRA killings of Lord Justice Maurice Gibson and his wife, Cecily in a car bomb in April 1987 and senior RUC officers, Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan in March 1989.