|
Crunch Northern Ireland talks go into overtime
2006-10-13
Crunch talks on the future of Northern Ireland have gone into overtime, as British Prime Minister Tony Blair battled to break a deadlock threatening the revival of self-rule there. A Blair spokesman insisted Friday the talks were "still in business," despite the passing of a midday deadline set earlier for the British leader to announce the results of the closed-door talks. "It's work in progress," added a smiling Gerry Adams, leader of the Catholic Republican party Sinn Fein, who will be crucial in hammering out a solution ahead of a November 24 deadline. After two days of negotiations in a heavily-secured hotel, the talks are narrowing down to a straight stand-off between Sinn Fein and Protestant firebrand Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Blair, co-hosting the make-or-break talks with his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern, had warned that if there was no deal by midday (1100 GMT), he would present a take-it-or-leave-it compromise deal to the parties. According to an informed source, Blair distributed a document of his proposed compromise to key parties overnight, in order for them to "digest" it, and the parties were due to resume talks a few hours before the deadline. The plan would have to be accepted by all parties before the November 24 deadline. Otherwise the long-troubled province, where self-rule has been suspended since 2002, will remain under British rule indefinitely. The talks outside the famed golfing town of St Andrews started off amid encouraging noises from all sides on Wednesday. But despite the warm words, there has been little sign of progress since then. The continuing tension between Sinn Fein and the DUP was evident late Thursday in a spat between the republican group's Martin McGuinness and DUP official Nigel Dodds in a live televised debate. "A huge help to all of us would be if (Paisley) were talking to us," McGuinness told the BBC. "He doesn't talk to me. His party hasn't spoken to us at all," he added. "That undoubtedly damages the prospects for success." The talks bring together leaders from both sides of the province: Catholic Republicans and Nationalists who want to unite with Ireland, and Protestant Unionists demanding to stay part of the United Kingdom. Two main sticking points are the refusal by the DUP to share power with Sinn Fein, the political branch of the Irish Republican Army, and Sinn Fein's refusal to back a historically Protestant-dominated police force. London believes the two parties are prepared to make compromises -- but the key question is timing, said Blair's spokesman. "They don't want the situation where one crosses the river while the other one gets cold feet," he said. And he warned that if there was no deal by midday Friday, Blair would "call" a deal, setting out a take-it-or-leave-it timetable for its implementation, to meet the November deadline. "The parties then would have to decide their response to that." But Paisley, known for his fire-and-brimstone rhetoric, much of it aimed at Catholics, insisted that Sinn Fein cannot enter government without giving ground on the police issue. "Until they do the democratic thing there can be no democratic government. And I will not sit in a non-democratic government," he said. Blair's spokesman admitted that the negotiations are difficult -- but insisted they were continuing. "It is tough. It always is. But we are still I think in business. I'm not going to guarantee that we will be successful, but we are still in business," he told reporters. "Let's see what happens in the next few hours. As always in these situations the last few hours are critical," he added. Asked how long Blair was prepared to keep the talks alive, he said: "It'll take as long as it takes." Muzi.com News
| 
