Trimble admits election likely without agreement
Next month’s Northern Ireland Assembly election seems likely to take place without a deal to restore power sharing, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble admitted tonight.
As Ulster Unionists and Sinn Féin blamed each other for the breakdown of last week’s peace process deal, the British and Irish governments were holding out little hope that the deadlock over IRA weapons could be broken.
Elections are due to be held in Northern Ireland on November 26 with Sinn Féin threatening to overtake the SDLP as the largest single nationalist party and David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists trying to hold off a fierce challenge from the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists as the leading voice in their community.
But as the Ulster Unionists aired their first election broadcast and he prepared to recommend to party officers the cancellation of a crucial meeting on Wednesday of his 900-member ruling council, Mr Trimble admitted it was unlikely there would be any agreement ahead of the November 26 poll.
The Upper Bann MP said progress had been made in recent weeks in his talks with Sinn Féin with republicans signalling the war was over and Gerry Adams committing them to pursuing their objectives peacefully.
But he admitted: “What we do not have is a transparency.
“What we do not have is a sense that things are coming to a completion.
“With the elections being called and the inexorable movement of the election timetable obviously we may be in a position where we cannot do anything further.
“Even at this late stage, however if we were to receive in the next hour or couple of hours a clear indication these proposals were operational, we would roll with them.”
Last Tuesday’s deal involving the British and Irish governments, republicans and Ulster Unionists stumbled over a lack of clarity around the IRA’s latest act of arms decommissioning.
As Mr Trimble prepared to inform party officers tonight in Belfast he was calling off Wednesday’s meeting of their 900 member ruling council, British and Irish Government sources were downbeat about the talks.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams accused the Ulster Unionists failing to deliver their side of the bargain last week and of walking away from a short term solution.
“I have Mr Trimble’s commitment in my pocket,” the West Belfast MP said.
“I have the commitments of the British and Irish governments in my pocket.
“All of what Mr Trimble has said is about what republicans have done and he has praised what has been achieved but what we don’t have is what the Ulster Unionists agreed.
“Those were crucial in getting the IRA and the words which I said which I stand over.”
SDLP leader Mark Durkan tonight accused the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Féin of walking away from the Good Friday Agreement.
“David Trimble is now seeking an end-date for decommissioning,” the former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister said.
“This is reasonable enough, but why did he not get this agreed in his endless discussions with Gerry Adams?
“Meanwhile the Republican Movement is reluctant to give transparency.
“But why should the people of Ireland not know what Tony Blair knows about decommissioning? And why should there be a problem with providing an end date?
“We already had one in the Agreement – so there should not be a great problem about having one now, especially when we already have end dates for demilitarisation and devolution of justice.”
