Peace in Northern-Ireland looks uncertain
DUP insists on "humiliating" Republicans
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - The Irish Republican Army has reopened negotiations with Northern Ireland's disarmament chief, signaling its readiness to put more weapons out of commission for the first time in over a year.
Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein said the IRA was willing to resume disarming after a 13-month hiatus - but would not accept conditions designed to humiliate the group. In its one-line statement, the IRA offered no hint as to whether it intends to disarm fully and disband in support of Northern Ireland's six-year-old peace accord, as the governments of Britain and Ireland expect. In past rounds of disarmament, the IRA has refused to let it be known how many weapons it had put "beyond use."
The British and Irish prime ministers, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, plan to travel to Belfast on Wednesday to unveil the peace plan.
But Ahern offered a downbeat assessment of the chances of a breakthrough - and he pointed to the dispute over whether the IRA would allow disarmament officials to photograph the destruction of the group's remaining weapons stockpiles raised concerns.
Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party, which represents most of Northern Ireland's British Protestant majority, is demanding this as a condition for forming a new administration alongside its old enemies in Sinn Fein. Adams, a reputed IRA commander since the mid-1970s, appeared to rule this out.
"I recognize that some unionists have genuine concerns about verification of arms beyond use," Adams said, using the deliberately ambiguous term used by the IRA to describe what disarmament officials are allowed to do with IRA weapons. "But Ian Paisley has to recognize also that the IRA will not, as I said before, submit to a process of humiliation," Adams said.
The British-Irish plans, presented confidentially to both Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists Nov. 17, reportedly include a call on the IRA to allow photos. The unionists accused Adams of seeking to pick the bits of the package he liked while ignoring others.
"This is a comprehensive agreement - it's all or nothing," said Democratic Unionist deputy leader Peter Robinson. "If the republican movement isn't prepared to sign up, I think that's regrettable," he said, using the blanket term for Sinn Fein and the IRA. "People in Northern Ireland could have been waking up tomorrow to a new era, but republicans have lost their nerve."
DUP insists on "humiliating" Republicans
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - The Irish Republican Army has reopened negotiations with Northern Ireland's disarmament chief, signaling its readiness to put more weapons out of commission for the first time in over a year.
Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein said the IRA was willing to resume disarming after a 13-month hiatus - but would not accept conditions designed to humiliate the group. In its one-line statement, the IRA offered no hint as to whether it intends to disarm fully and disband in support of Northern Ireland's six-year-old peace accord, as the governments of Britain and Ireland expect. In past rounds of disarmament, the IRA has refused to let it be known how many weapons it had put "beyond use."
The British and Irish prime ministers, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, plan to travel to Belfast on Wednesday to unveil the peace plan.
But Ahern offered a downbeat assessment of the chances of a breakthrough - and he pointed to the dispute over whether the IRA would allow disarmament officials to photograph the destruction of the group's remaining weapons stockpiles raised concerns.
Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party, which represents most of Northern Ireland's British Protestant majority, is demanding this as a condition for forming a new administration alongside its old enemies in Sinn Fein. Adams, a reputed IRA commander since the mid-1970s, appeared to rule this out.
"I recognize that some unionists have genuine concerns about verification of arms beyond use," Adams said, using the deliberately ambiguous term used by the IRA to describe what disarmament officials are allowed to do with IRA weapons. "But Ian Paisley has to recognize also that the IRA will not, as I said before, submit to a process of humiliation," Adams said.
The British-Irish plans, presented confidentially to both Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists Nov. 17, reportedly include a call on the IRA to allow photos. The unionists accused Adams of seeking to pick the bits of the package he liked while ignoring others.
"This is a comprehensive agreement - it's all or nothing," said Democratic Unionist deputy leader Peter Robinson. "If the republican movement isn't prepared to sign up, I think that's regrettable," he said, using the blanket term for Sinn Fein and the IRA. "People in Northern Ireland could have been waking up tomorrow to a new era, but republicans have lost their nerve."
