Ahern and Blair in last-ditch talks to save agreement
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were today flying to Northern Ireland in a last-ditch bid to prevent the peace process going into freefall.
With three days to go before Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble carries out his threat to quit as First Minister, Mr Blair and Mr Ahern will hold talks with the North's pro-Good Friday Agreement parties at Hillsborough Castle.
As the Governments prepared for talks, the deputy leader of Ian Paisley’s anti-Agreement Democratic Unionists claimed they were more concerned about ‘‘keeping the North's political institutions intact than in saving David Trimble’’.
Peter Robinson said: ‘‘Even if they do cobble something together out of these talks, how is it going to work?
‘‘They won’t be able to command the support of the majority of unionists.’’
The East Belfast MP said the British and Irish Governments were realising they could not save Mr Trimble.
‘‘The feeling I am getting is that they regard him very much as dead wood,’’ said the DUP deputy leader.
The Government leaders are due to meet each other and then hold talks with Sinn Fein, the nationalist SDLP, and the Ulster Unionists followed by the smaller pro-Good Friday Agreement parties.
Some parties, most notably the SDLP, the cross-community Alliance Party and Women’s Coalition and the loyalist Progressive Unionists, have also been pressing for a round table discussion of all the politicians.
The task facing the parties is to come up with an overarching deal which will tackle the issues of republican and loyalist disarmament, resolve differences over police reform, demilitarisation and sanctions against Sinn Fein.
But with David Trimble set to resign as First Minister on Sunday unless there is enough movement on IRA decommissioning and republicans warning they will not bow to pressure, the prospects of today’s talks achieving a breakthrough are believed to be slim.
Mr Blair’s official spokesman last night cautioned against ‘‘anticipating too much’’, stressing there were ‘‘difficult issues’’ to be addressed and the discussions were not ‘‘make or break’’.
Stressing the discussions would be about the implementation of the Agreement and not just Mr Trimble’s resignation, the spokesman said: ‘‘The Prime Minister has got a great regard for David Trimble.
‘‘We don’t want to get to that stage if that is at all possible.
‘‘If we do get to that stage, we will take things forward as we can.’’
