Pressure mounts as Paisley talks to de Chastelain
DUP leader the Rev. Ian Paisley was today holding crucial talks with head of the independent disarmament body General John de Chastelain as the pressure mounted on his party and Sinn Féin to endorse a new peace process deal.
The DUP leader arranged talks with General John de Chastelain in a bid to press home his party’s demand for more transparent weapons decommissioning from the IRA.
It is the second time the two have met this week and it follows hard on a warning from Bertie Ahern in Dublin last night that the Irish and British governments have set a four-day deadline for agreement.
After a meeting with Northern Ireland’s most senior policeman Chief Constable Hugh Orde yesterday, Rev Paisley appeared to cast doubt on the prospect of a deal when he condemned reports that the withdrawal of British soldiers could be speeded up in the event of an agreement.
The North Antrim MP also insisted Sinn Féin would have to declare its hand before his party on whether it would sign up to the two governments’ formula for reviving power sharing at Stormont and removing the gun forever from Northern Ireland politics.
“This is not negotiations with Sinn Féin,” he declared. “It’s an ultimatum to Sinn Féin. Are you going to continue to be terrorists or are you going to quit your terrorist path?”
The North Antrim MP added: “I will have to do a good deal of swallowing. I will have to do a good deal of biting my lip in future days but I’m prepared to do that provided they cease to be terrorists.”
The DUP leader's comments were criticised last night by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams who said: “Republicans and nationalists should not be provoked. Nor should we be surprised.
“The use of such provocative, insulting and offensive language is the clearest evidence of how far the DUP have to move to embrace concepts of accommodation and equality which are at the core of the peace process.”
The Democratic Unionists have been pressing for a photograph to accompany any future act of IRA disarmament and for the process of putting weapons beyond use to be completed.
It is believed the photographic issue has been a major sticking point in the efforts to achieve a deal, although it is possible that Catholic and Protestant clergy could witness an act of disarmament by the IRA along with General de Chastelain.
The DUP has also been anxious to ensure that any attempt by the IRA to complete disarmament is presented properly during the rolling out of a deal.
The party does not want a repeat of the problems experienced in October last year when Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble had to pull his party’s contribution to a deal because of the lack of detail in General de Chastelain’s account of the IRA’s third decommissioning act.
Republicans came under further pressure today for a photograph to accompany the next act of disarmament when the SDLP's Alex Attwood said they owed it to the people of Ireland.
The West Belfast MLA told BBC Radio Ulster’s Inside Politics programme: “The IRA should go as far as they possibly can to respond to the requirements of the Irish people. For that reason the Irish people, I think, require them – if necessary – to accept the issue of photographs.”
It is understood that if a deal is struck next week, it will be underpinned by a financial package from the British government called the Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin revealed last night he had received in writing a commitment from Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy that there would be a peace dividend.
However the Foyle Assembly member insisted it still fell short of what a Stormont power-sharing government would need to tackle disadvantage.
“The content and terms suggested to us this evening by Paul Murphy fall very short of what is required,” he said.
“Sinn Féin will now meet with the British government to ensure that any peace dividend is significant enough to make a real impact, particularly on the human rights and equality agendas.
“Having brought the British government to this position, we will continue to press them to ensure that any financial package is significant and that it is used to the benefit of those communities which have suffered most from the conflict.”
It is also understood that the Irish government has conceded on a key republican demand for the right of Northern Ireland politicians to participate in debates in the Dáil.
It is believed Northern Ireland MEPs will be offered, under the deal, the chance to take part in debates.
Northern Ireland’s three MEPs are the Democratic Unionists’ Jim Allister, Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brun and Ulster Unionists’ Jim Nicholson.
