Dec. 30, 2002
Politics Must Be Shown to Work

The continuing feud within loyalism demonstrates the need to make politics work in 2003, Sinn Féin national chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said today. 

In a New year`s message he called on all parties to "engage seriously`` in the round table talks to restore devolution to Northern Ireland.

Restoring power-sharing and allowing it to function properly would show there was no justification for violence, he said.

"Sinn Féin is committed to achieving further political progress in 2003,`` said McLaughlin, MLA for Foyle.

"There is no acceptable alternative to making politics work. I call on all pro-Good Friday Agreement parties to renew their commitment to the full and faithful implementation of the Agreement. Failure, for whatever reason, in implementing the Agreement only serves the agenda of those opposed to change and those wedded to violence. The ongoing violence in unionist areas of Belfast is testimony to how things deteriorate in the absence of political leadership.``

Mr. McLaughlin said that in spite of the UUP leaving the talks aimed at restoring devolution, the British and Irish Governments as well as the parties must "demonstrate the primacy of politics`` if they were to give real hope to society at large.

He continued: "To this end, I urge all parties to engage seriously in the talks that will take place following the New Year break with a determination to have the political institutions re-established. It is only in the context of functioning political institutions that we can demonstrate that politics works and that there is no justification for continued violence.`` ****

Jan. 2, 2003
UFF Claim Belfast Murder

 A man was shot dead in a bar in south Belfast this evening in what is believed to be part of an ongoing loyalist feud.

The victim is understood to have been attacked at the Kimberley Bar in the city's upper Ormeau Road area.

The pub is in a loyalist area of the city and tonight's shooting follows a series of tit-for-tat attacks between rival loyalist paramilitary factions.

The so-called Ulster Freedom Fighters (a cover name used by the UDA) admitted this evening carrying out the attack.

Police immediately sealed off part of south Belfast in a major follow-up operation to track down the killers.

The dead man, a former prisoner came from the neighboring Donegal Road area.

Rival factions have been involved in a feud for the last six months following the expulsion from the UDA of Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair.

Adair's associates tonight categorically denied any involvement in the shooting.

Mr. John White said: "I cannot see how this can be associated with the feud. It seems this man was shot by one of his own in south Belfast. He was well-known all over Belfast. He's a Loyalist, a member of the UDA and he was shot for no other reason."

Northern Ireland Office Minister Mr. Des Browne condemned the shooting.

And SDLP MLA Alasdair McDonnell said: "We don't care what faction the victim comes from we don't care what faction those who did this come from. We don't accept that the victim was entitled to be gunned down like this - and we don't accept that those who did it have any right to do it."

The area's Ulster Unionist Assembly member, Michael McGimpsey, said the killing appeared to be part of the loyalist feud.

"Unless we get a process whereby people on all sides can come together this situation is only going to get worse. It is a matter of extreme urgency that those involved in the feud begin a process of mediation," he said.

Jan. 6, 2003
Blair to Launch Drive to Restore Devolution

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to launch a new drive to save the Northern Ireland peace process this week. Blair is to hold talks with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble at Downing Street, in the first of a series of
meetings designed to break the political deadlock in Belfast.

London and Dublin are both desperate for Sinn Féin to take its seats on the central Policing Board and endorse the service as a career for young Catholics.

However, Sinn Féin will wait to see if current proposed legislation will bring the Police Service of Northern Ireland into line with the recommendations of the Patten Report on the future of policing in the North.

On Sunday, Sinn Féin accused the Irish Government of not being vocal and assertive enough in ensuring that the British government honors its commitments under the Belfast Agreement.

Delivering the annual Ferghal O'Hanlon lecture in Monaghan, Belfast's Lord Mayor, Mr. Alex Maskey, also criticized the Irish Government's record on policing in the North, paramilitary prisoners and all-Ireland institutions.

The Irish Government had a heavy responsibility to shoulder, he said. "The Irish Government are joint co-equal partners with the British government in the shaping and protection of the agreement. They have a joint co-equal responsibility for its implementation. They also have an onerous responsibility to promote and defend Irish national interests and the rights of all Irish citizens living in the Six Counties."

"It is my view that there have been a number of occasions in the last few years when they should have been more vocal and assertive in ensuring that the British government honored their commitments. I believe this is particularly relevant in at least two crucial areas: the development of the all-Ireland institutions and the implementation of the Patten recommendations on policing."

Maskey said that the all-Ireland institutions were a "pale reflection" of the Assembly and the Executive. Yet these were the institutions nationalists were most keen to see developed to the maximum.

Sinn Féin expected the Irish Government to use its "considerable resources" to advance these institutions, but it had failed to do so. The Government had also been "found wanting" on policing, he added.

Nationalist unity on the full implementation of the Patten recommendations had been needed to pressurize the British government, Maskey said.

Maskey said that the primary responsibility for the failure to implement the Belfast Agreement, five years after its signing, lay with the British government.

"Anti-agreement elements inside the British government and the unionist parties are setting the agenda. They have filtered the proposed changes through a unionist view of the world. The dead hand of these forces has held back the pace and the extent of the changes promised in the Good Friday agreement."

Maskey said that the failure to implement the Belfast Agreement did not invalidate the agreement. The agreement was a "clear recognition" of the fact that partition had failed, he claimed. A new police service which nationalists could support and join, transparent legislation on justice and human rights, and parity of esteem for cultural rights were needed, he said.

The recently released British Cabinet papers of 1972 on repartition showed the "absurd and shallow nature" of London's thinking and policy and highlighted the colonial nature of the problem.

A form of "hidden partition" was still occurring in the North, he said. Nationalists living along the peace-line in north and east Belfast, and in Antrim, north Armagh and north Down, were being intimidated from their homes.

A "blind-eye approach" by the British military authorities left nationalists "vulnerable and uncertain about where to live in their own country."

The Belfast Agreement offered everyone a peaceful future, equality and an opportunity to reshape Irish politics, he said.

"I am satisfied that with the proper will on all sides it can not only withstand the pressures of this year, it can grow in strength and prove for the first time in centuries that the people of this island and Britain can work out their difficulties peacefully and politically."

Meanwhile, hardline unionists have warned the rescue mission aimed at restoring the Stormont power-sharing
regime and win Sinn Féin backing for the police service is doomed unless the IRA completely disbands.

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said: "The unionist community has lost all confidence in this process. A chronology is in place which may be a pantomime, but it`s certainly not reality. The only way this will work is if the republican movement disbands."

Jan. 6, 2003
Kelly Says Excluding Sinn Féin Won't Work

Excluding Sinn Féin from power-sharing will not be a firm basis for re-establishing devolution, a senior member of the party said today. As Northern Ireland parties prepared for a round of meetings with Prime Minister Tony Blair in London this week, North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly insisted that any move to exclude Sinn Féin from the North`s political institutions would not work.

"The unionists decided to pull down institutions which were driving the whole process forward," he said.

"They were bringing us out of the conflict and were working and now we are in the situation where we have no institutions. We need them up and running again and the wrong way to argue to get the institutions up and running again is to say Sinn Féin must be excluded. Remember, when you are talking about excluding Sinn Féin, you are talking about excluding the largest nationalist party and the largest nationalist vote in the north of Ireland. That`s the difficulty here, you are talking about excluding that many voters."

Blair is expected to meet Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan in Downing Street tomorrow.

Hard-line Ulster Unionists have insisted that the IRA must completely disband and step up efforts to further disarm if power-sharing is to be restored.

However, republicans have countered that the best way of removing paramilitaries from Northern Ireland society is by allowing the political institutions to function and allowing other aspects of the Good Friday Agreement to be implemented fully.

Sinn Féin leaders expected to meet Blair in London later this week. 

Jan. 7, 2003
Trimble Casts Doubt on Assembly Elections

British prime minister Tony Blair must make a decision soon on whether to restore devolved institutions in Northern Ireland if the planned elections to the Stormont Assembly are to go ahead, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said today. Speaking after an hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, Mr. Trimble said it was "increasingly problematic" whether the elections scheduled for May can go ahead.

He said: "The government will have to take a decision on this and will have to take a decision fairly soon. There is a question of whether there is any point in having an election to an institution that no longer exists and what the practical consequences of that would be."

Mr. Trimble has also confirmed that he has requested a meeting with Sinn Féin. He asked the Sinn Féin leadership for talks on what steps the republican movement might make to end the current crisis in the peace process.

He said the UUP wanted to see not only acts of decommissioning by the IRA, but also assurances that the organization will disband and paramilitaries will end "all violent and illegal activities."

Today's talks were the first in a series of meetings, with the prime minister expected to meet delegations from Sinn Féin and the SDLP later in the week.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said unionists should "end their inconsistency and get down to the real business of moving out of the political crisis."

He pointed out that Mr. Trimble had offered to hold talks with Sinn Féin after walking out of multi-party talks before Christmas.

"Now that he has clarified his resonance to meet Sinn Féin in a bilateral, there is no excuse for him not participating in the all-party talks," said Mr. Durkan.

"While he may pursue with Sinn Féin his single item agenda there is a need for him to deal with all of the issues with all of the parties in round-table form."

Sinn Féin blame the difficulties in the process on unionists.
 

"The unionists decided to pull down institutions which were driving the whole process forward," said assembly member Gerry Kelly.

"They were bringing us out of the conflict and were working and now we are in the situation where we have no institutions."

Today`s Downing Street talks came as Ian Paisley`s hard- line Democratic Unionists held out the prospect of the party cutting a deal with Sinn Féin.

William Hay, a DUP Assembly member, said if republicans gave certain guarantees, the DUP would be prepared to "sit down and do business with them like any other constitutional party." 

Ulster Unionist assembly member Michael McGimpsey called for clarification from the DUP leadership following the comments.

"This is an interesting development. But we need clarification from the DUP leadership, mainly Dr Paisley and Mr. Robinson on what this actually means," he said.

"Is this statement now DUP party policy or is Mr. Hay running ahead of his leader?"

Jan. 8, 2003
UDA Feud Suspected in Further Attack

A man is critically ill in hospital after what is believed to be the latest attack in the ongoing loyalist feud.

Four masked men, one armed with a handgun, shot the 23-year- old man after entering his home at Dunlusk Gardens, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim. The incident happened at around 2300 GMT last night.

The man was taken to hospital with a thigh injury and wounds consistent with being beaten about the head. His condition is critical.

The victim's partner, who was also in the house at the time, was not injured but the couple's young child, who was playing nearby, saw the gunmen run off across wasteland. An arrest was made shortly afterwards.

Police later confirmed they were investigating the shooting as part of the feud within the loyalist Ulster Defense Association (UDA).

Meanwhile, police mounted a major security operation in Belfast this morning for the funeral of the latest victim in the feud.

Roadblocks were set up around the Donegall Road area and vehicles were stopped and searched while a private funeral service took place in the side street home of the victim's parents.

UDA man Roy Green (32) was shot dead outside a bar in South Belfast's Ormeau Road last Thursday. The UDA leadership said he'd been killed for acting as a double agent in their feud with terror chief Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair.

Despite his paramilitary background, there were no paramilitary trappings at Green`s sparsely attended funeral, and Adair and close associate John White stayed away.

Mr. White said: "The family are under enough pressure and we felt it right in the circumstances not to go. The family has also been threatened by the UDA in South Belfast."

After the service, the coffin was carried around the loyalist heartland of Donegall Road past murals depicting paramilitary gunmen before being taken across the city for burial at Roselawn Cemetery on the hills above East Belfast.

There was a security alert around Adair's West Belfast home today, and British army bomb experts took away the remains of an object which caused a small explosion in the back yard during the morning.

Police later confirmed the item was a blast bomb, which exploded at 0630 GMT. A number of items were taken away for technical examination.

Also last night, a 28-year-old man escaped through an upstairs bedroom window when a masked gang of four, one armed with a handgun, the others with an iron bar, a bat and an unspecified implement, broke into his home on the Ballysally estate in Coleraine, Co Derry.

The occupant's partner and two young children were left in the house while the intruders searched the premises. The man's partner was questioned by the intruders before they left. No-one was hurt in the incident.

Jan. 8, 2003
Durkan Speaks on May Elections

SDLP leader Mark Durkan tonight rejected the suggestion by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble that the British government might have to consider rearranging the date of the next Assembly election from May 1 because of the suspension of devolution. "The election date stands and we are not entertaining any
suggestion of postponing the election," the SDLP leader said.

"There is nothing to suggest that postponing the election is actually going to enhance the incentives and imperatives in and around getting the confidence issues in the political process resolved and the institutions re- established. It seems to me postponing the election only seems to give people more excuse for delay, more excuse for a blame game, more recrimination. 

"So if David Trimble`s concern is that it is very difficult to have an election in circumstances where things have not been resolved, the issue is not bringing back the election. The issue is bringing forward the resolution," he said.

With the election operating under proportional representation, how the electorate transfers its votes between candidates will play a key role in determining the future shape of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr. Durkan tonight fought shy of issuing any specific guidance to SDLP voters on who they should support after giving his party their initial support.

"First of all, people have to remember you have to compete for first preference votes and persuade people to vote for you and your candidates," the Foyle MLA said.

"I have always in elections advised people that the best way of making sure that their vote counts more is to use the transfer possibility so that if they are going to vote SDLP in their early preferences then in terms of giving themselves more democratic mileage they should then subsequently transfer to anyone else that they would have voted for if we weren`t running. I would argue that people do that with regard to pro-Good Friday Agreement candidates. The problem is that you cannot talk about pro- Agreement parties because there is a party that comes under a pro-Agreement heading but is running some virulently anti- Agreement candidates. However this is a matter for the electorate. I don`t think there will be any parties who would want to go out doing the hard battle of persuading people to give them first preference votes and then spending the whole campaign explaining why other parties are worth the next preferences," said Durkan.

In other news today, the meeting between UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Sinn Féin leaders at Downing Street today was postponed due to bad weather in London.

A Sinn Féin spokesman said it was hoped the meeting at Downing Street would now take place tomorrow at 1530 GMT. The decision means that a meeting Gerry Adams hoped to hold with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble tomorrow will now most likely be held at the beginning of next week.

Earlier today, Gerry Adams told reporters in Belfast that David Trimble's comments yesterday had raised the bar for republicans. He also accused the Ulster Unionist leader of being inconsistent in his approach to the talks.

At his meeting yesterday, Trimble called for visible acts of IRA decommissioning and the disbandment of paramilitary organizations, both republican and loyalist.

Sources in London insist that Blair is fully engaged with efforts to revive the Assembly and power-sharing executive. Nevertheless, it is believed in Belfast that the possibility of a war with Iraq gives local politicians little time to cut a deal.

Jan. 13, 2003
Adams, Trimble Meet in Belfast

Sinn Féin needs the co-operation of unionists if devolution is to be restored at Stormont, party leader Gerry Adams said today. 

After a meeting with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and former Stormont Minister, Sir Reg Empey, the West Belfast MP said both parties needed to work together to smooth over difficulties in the peace process.

"I have to say that the putting of pre-conditions - and we are all aware of the different pre-conditions the unionists have been putting - is unhelpful and is counter-productive to any effort to put the process back on the rails," Adams said.

"Having said that we listened very intently to what Mr. Trimble and Mr. Empey had to say and we are going to continue to meet. This Sinn Féin leadership will do our best and certainly will construct a road to plot a course
ahead but we cannot do it on our own and we cannot do the impossible. It is essentially about making politics work, it is about peoples` rights, about peoples` entitlement and we have to get real about this."

Adams who was joined by Mid-Ulster MP Martin McGuinness, said the meeting was useful. He said unionists were conscious that there was "a small window of opportunity" during the current phase of negotiation.

"It is my view that they will eventually be got right but in this phase and this period, I think that unionism and we ourselves are conscious that it is a limited opportunity and people need to knuckle down to sort this out," he said. 

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has called on republicans to "do the business" promised in the past. 

 In a statement issued after today's meeting with Sinn Féin, Trimble said he had told the party leadership during the hour-long talks that there had to be genuine acts of completion.

The Upper Bann MP said: "Our discussions were frank but not confrontational. We said there would have to be genuine acts of completion and that the republican movement would have to do the business this time. It would have to be capable of instilling maximum public confidence and not something that was done grudgingly. The survival of the institutions is dependent upon the removal of the threat of all paramilitarism from the body politic."

Earlier today, the Democratic Unionist Party said it had been given a clear signal that the British government intends to go ahead with assembly elections in May.

 A delegation from the party said they were given the assurance during an hour long meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary, Paul Murphy, at Stormont.

Speaking afterwards, party leader Ian Paisley said the British government was clear about its intentions to hold elections, even if devolution could not be restored.

The North Antrim MP said: "We will have elections. That was very clear today. I put to him that I would perhaps accept that at this moment he might say that there will be elections but whether he'll stick to that or not is another matter. But at the moment their mind is to have elections."

The British government is hoping this latest round of talks with the parties will pave the way for a review of the implementation of the Agreement and find a basis on which the institutions could be restored.

However, Paisley has said he had no interest in taking part in a review of its implementation.

Following the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont, current legislation dictates that the British and Irish Governments must review the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on which devolution was based. But unless some common ground can be found between the parties on how to proceed, there is no mechanism for reinstating Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.

Both the governments continue to stress that there will be no re-negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Jan. 15, 2003
Adams Voices Electoral Concerns

The number of first-time voters missed off the new electoral register is unacceptable, West Belfast MP Gerry Adams has said. Adams is expected to lay out his case against the Electoral Office today.

Electoral officials have acknowledged that many young people have not been registered, but they are reminding anyone missed off that they still have a chance to get their names on the register.

The latest electoral register, compiled after the introduction of new anti-fraud measures, showed a sharp decline in the number of people registered to vote.

 The register published in November last year showed a dramatic fall of 130,000 voters across Northern Ireland. But the trend was greatest in the West Belfast constituency, where about 11,000 - or nearly one in five names - were missed off. Sinn Féin, however, has been consistently critical of the registration process, which it says was badly organized and confused many voters. Adams will argue that the electoral authorities failed to register as many as 80% of first-time voters.

Electoral officials said many young people did not fill in
the new registration forms and there were particular problems in inner city areas with a high population turnover.

But they claimed there was still a chance for people to claim their vote through a continuing process of rolling registration.

A registration campaign was launched in September and forms were sent to more than a million people who were previously registered to vote. In the past, just one form was given out to each household. Now every individual voter has to fill out a form, supply their national insurance number, date of birth and sign it personally. A helpline and website have also been set up to help voters understand the new system.

To vote at the next election they will have to present photographic identification in the polling station. Acceptable ID will include a British or Irish passport, a Northern Ireland driving license, or a Translink Senior Smartpass.

Jan. 15, 2003
Adams Appeals to Unionists

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has appealed to Ulster Unionists to run on a pro-Good Friday Agreement platform in this year's Assembly elections.

 Accusing the Rev. Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists of wanting to get rid of the Agreement rather than renegotiate it, the West Belfast MP argued: "Those battling within unionism need to give the electorate a choice. If both unionist parties are on an anti-Agreement kick, or there is a perception that they are on an anti-Agreement kick, they will both confuse and demotivate unionist voters - particularly those who want this Agreement to actually succeed."

"It is not for me to give advice to David Trimble but if I were David Trimble, I would be actively advancing, promoting, arguing for the Agreement and, of course, the best evidence of all of that is to be in the Executive and to be actually able to show people that all of this works. Now the UUP have taken tactical decisions which have left us in the opposite position but we will have to deal with whoever is returned in the elections," said Adams.

"I don`t buy into the speculation either into the fortunes of our party or indeed the fortunes of the unionist parties. All of that fails to take account of the fact that no-one has yet cast a vote and when people cast their votes we all have to face up to the results of that and move forward."

Adams issued his plea to Trimble`s party within 48 hours of the UUP completing its full list of Assembly candidates. Forty-four Ulster Unionists will seek election in 18 constituencies. However, they are likely to face a tough battle for the top position within unionism from Paisley`s Democratic Unionists.

The presence of leading anti-Agreement UUP candidates like Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, South Antrim MP David Burnside and honorary secretary Arlene Foster will also pose problems for Mr. Trimble.

Adams accused the Democratic Unionists of engaging in a `sham fight` on the Agreement following East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell`s claim that his party could trigger a renegotiation of the accord by thwarting the election of a First and Deputy First Minister at Stormont.

The DUP, he said, worked with Sinn Féin "in a civil way" on the Assembly floor, in committees, in local government and on delegations while publicly denouncing his party. He also insisted the Agreement would not be renegotiated.

"The Good Friday Agreement is now an international treaty and the Good Friday Agreement, if the unionists could just see it, is for everybody`s benefit with very modest issues like equality and entitlements across a range of socio- economic issues," Adams went on.

"Now having said that, of course we will listen. In terms of implementation, sensible people would try and work out a way in which it is possible to implement measures in a manner which is stabilizing and creates the least difficulty for anyone. But the DUP are not about renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement, in their words, to find a better way of achieving its aims. They are about renegotiating to get rid of it and that isn`t on."

"Ian Paisley, I think, knows that and that is why he always
runs shy of talks. If you examine Ian Paisley`s role here for the last few decades, he has always refused to deal with the real issues because he knows to deal with the real issues, he has to give," Adams said.

Jan. 16, 2003
Adams Says Republicans Committed to Pluralism

Republicans have no desire to subject unionists to any injustice, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said today. 

 In his address to the second session of the Forum Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin which sought the views of members of the unionist community on the peace process, Mr. Adams acknowledged the "deep concern among unionists about the future and in particular about a threat to their identity."

The West Belfast MP moved to "assure them that republicans are committed to a future based on democratic principles and to creating a pluralist society on this island."

"I know from my own personal experience as a citizen denied by successive British and Unionist governments the right to express my cultural identity how much this type of discrimination fanned the flames of conflict. Let me make it quite clear it is not our intention to put unionists into the political space that nationalists and republicans have long sought to escape from."

Adams said that if the leaders of unionism, nationalism and republicanism work together, they could resolve the causes of conflict. He said no-one should fear dialogue or peace.

Republicans, he said and others in the peace process had in recent years tried to get to the heart of the "deep-seated misunderstanding and mistrust" which separated nationalists and unionists.

During this journey republicans, he said, had "come face to face with the human legacy of pain and hurt suffered by unionists over the last 30 years of the conflict."

"I have acknowledged this in the past and I do so again here today. Much hurt was inflicted on all sides and by all sides in the conflict."

Adams said republicans needed to spell out to unionists the type of united Ireland they were trying to construct. Republicans, he said, were happy to engage with unionists about their vision for the future. "We`re open to listening to unionism about what they believe the union offers citizens," the West Belfast MP said. "The opening up of a public debate around these key issues can only be a positive step forward."

In other news today, a loyalist paramilitary organization has warned its commitment to the peace process is under strain.

The leadership of the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando have blamed the IRA for what it called "the current dearth of confidence in the process."

In a statement released today, the UVF warns the British and Irish Governments not to make unilateral concessions to republicans as part of any attempt to revive the devolved institutions.

The statement reads: "The underhanded approach of the past must end."

The Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since Oct. 14, following a row over allegations of IRA activity, including intelligence gathering at Stormont.

The UVF's political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party, currently holds two seats in the Stormont Assembly.

The group accuses the IRA of "the wholesale targeting of the pro-union population" - a reference to alleged intelligence gathering in recent months.

It is not thought there is any imminent threat to the UVF ceasefire but the words used suggest these organizations are becoming more and more detached from the peace process.

A UVF source said: "We feel that loyalists have been airbrushed out of the process by the two governments and republicans - in other words we don't matter. This is not just about decommissioning loyalist weapons, it is about decommissioning loyalism."

 The statement follows a review of the peace process by the UVF and the Red Hand Commando.

Sources are suggesting that "further developments" over the the next three to four days will demonstrate "how much confidence they have lost in the process." It comes a week after the PUP withdrew from talks aimed at restoring devolution to the North.
 

Party leader David Ervine said the governments were excluding him from the real negotiations. Ervine said his colleagues could not be expected to "rubberstamp" a deal they had no sight of during negotiations. "It is clear there are things going on in the undergrowth - both political and paramilitary," he said.

"Unless we have a clear understanding, a clear sight of what those are, it would be foolish for the PUP to take its place in the upcoming talks and be used simply for a pat on the head and to rubberstamp something we have not been party to. We are not prepared to play that game."

Following the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont, current legislation dictates that the British and Irish Governments must review the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on which devolution was based.

But unless some common ground can be found between the parties on how to proceed, there is no mechanism for reinstating Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.

Both the governments have stressed that there will be no re- negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble is attempting to sabotage the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, a senior Sinn Féin figure has claimed. Speaking on the day of the original deadline set by Ulster Unionists for the IRA to begin moves towards disbandment, Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said the Ulster Unionist leader was undermining the Good Friday Agreement.

"We are calling on him to come clean. We are accusing him of effectively undermining the Agreement itself for party political reasons. He has made a judgment and this is the actual day that the Unionists at conference last autumn had decided that they would withdraw from the process irrespective of conditions or circumstances of political theatre up at Stormont," he said.

"I think his judgment that his party would not be part of the executive in contesting the election has actually been developed further to an active policy of preventing the elections happening, and we think that this is undemocratic and it is not in the interests of his own party let alone the wider society."

Speaking after a meeting of his party`s ruling council in Dublin, McLaughlin said it appeared the UUP had set an agenda in September which would have taken the party out of the Assembly and the executive.

"The Unionist party leadership have either collectively lost their nerve or have in fact moved collectively on to the No camp territory," he said.

He said the British government now had to give a clear commitment that Assembly elections would go ahead on May 1 as planned.

Almost five months have passed since David Trimble`s UUP threatened to pull its ministers out of the government of Northern Ireland.

The IRA today denied threatening loyalist community workers, saying the allegation was "bogus."

Allegations that it was compiling intelligence material on Protestants involved in cross-community projects in the greater Belfast area were untrue, the IRA said in a statement.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

"There have been well-publicized allegations over recent months and days about IRA threats.

"These allegations are bogus and mischievous and are being exploited in an effort to undermine public confidence.

Our cessation remains intact."

P O'Neill Irish Republican Publicity Bureau Dublin

ENDS

Earlier today, loyalists who claimed they were being targeted by the Provisionals pulled out of cross community projects and events involving republicans.

The Protestant Community Workers Association said a police warning that personal details of their members had been kept by the IRA was a blow to the peace process.

Progressive Unionist William Smith said: "We can only view this as a serious breach of confidence, faith and trust. It is a betrayal of people involved in many years of dedicated and hard peace building. This work has now been seriously damaged by the despicable behavior of
elements within the Provisional IRA. This targeting of trust has really wounded the cross-community sector and we call on the community sector, the statutory agencies, funders, trade unions and all of civic society to speak out against this deplorable behavior."

Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionist Party has announced it will not be participating in today's multi-party talks at Stormont on the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.

The news means the week-long round of talks - which will include meetings involving the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair - will now have no unionist representation.

In a letter to Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, UUP leader Mr. David Trimble argued the discussion of "secondary issues" in today's talks would serve as a "smokescreen to divert attention from the key issue of paramilitarism."

Trimble also objected to the presence of the Republic's Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Tom Kitt, at a meeting on matters relating solely to Northern Ireland. "We cannot, on that ground alone, contemplate participation this afternoon."

The SDLP, Sinn Féin, the cross-community Alliance Party and the Women's Coalition are expected to attend the implementation group talks.

The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), which is linked to the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force, has said it will not attend after claiming it was excluded from earlier talks.

The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists have refused to play any part in implementing the Agreement and have called for its renegotiation.

Jan. 20, 2003
Governments Discuss Agreement Implementation

 Multi-party talks dealing with equality and human rights have taken place today at Stormont without Ulster Unionist Party participation.

In a letter to the Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, David Trimble said that "secondary issues would serve as a smokescreen to divert attention away from the key issue of paramilitarism."

The UUP said there could be "no inch-by-inch negotiations," echoing a speech made by Prime Minister Tony Blair in October ,2002. Northern Ireland Office minister Des Browne co-hosted the talks with Irish Minister of State Tom Kitt at Stormont.

The discussions were aimed at implementing aspects of the Good Friday Agreement, with themes ranging from human rights to equality.

Following the meeting, Browne and Kitt issued a joint statement which said all the issues discussed were essential and central to the agreement.

The UUP objected to internal Northern Ireland matters being discussed at a meeting jointly chaired by the Irish Government.

"We cannot, on that ground alone, contemplate participation this afternoon," said Trimble, who is currently attending a peace conference in Barcelona.

Trimble's assembly team decided not to attend following a meeting held in his absence this morning.

However, SDLP leader Mark Durkan rejected UUP criticism and described the meeting as useful. He also rubbished suggestions from the UUP that the Irish Government had no place at the talks because the matters under discussion were for the Northern Ireland government only.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin has said he believed there would be a warm and generous response from republicans if there was evidence of politics working.

Speaking as he went into the talks, Mr. McLaughlin said he was confident of bringing an end of the republican armed struggle tradition but his party needed partners to help with the process.

McLaughlin claimed the main problems with confidence in the process was either the failure or lack of leadership by the UUP.

Regarding weekend speculation that the IRA may stand down, he said there was ill-informed speculation and before "we can get to first base" we need an implementation plan from the governments.

Meanwhile, intense talks continue behind the scenes on other key issues such as policing and demilitarization.

Last week, Mr. Trimble said the IRA had to engage in "genuine acts of completion" to give unionists the confidence to return to power-sharing with Sinn Féin.
 

The British government is hoping this latest round of talks with the parties will pave the way for a review of the implementation of the Agreement and find a basis on which the institutions could be restored.

Unless some common ground can be found between the parties on how to proceed, there is no mechanism for reinstating Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.

Both the governments have said there will be no re-negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Developments in the Northern Ireland political process could move very quickly if the British government was prepared to make changes to policing and demilitarization, according to Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech last year about acts of completion must be lived up to.

As Blair prepared for a crucial meeting at Downing Street tomorrow with the Irish Premier Bertie Ahern, Mr. McGuinness said republicans would be prepared to respond positively if the British government shouldered its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement.

As Unionists continued to demand the emptying of IRA arms dumps and an end to paramilitary activity, the mid-Ulster MP said Blair was "up for acts of completion all round."

"I have not heard or seen anything from the British government which would indicate the British Prime Minister is up for acts of completion on policing, demilitarization, human rights and equality. Maybe in the aftermath of tomorrow`s meeting, we will hear a different tune being sung and if that is the case, I think all of us will be able to rise to that challenge."

Sinn Féin has billed tomorrow`s meeting between Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern as the most important one in the peace process for 20 years.

The Prime Minister and the Irish Taoiseach are expected to analyze discussions so far with the Northern Ireland parties and map out a way to revive devolution.

Last October, Northern Ireland`s Assembly and power-sharing executive was suspended by the British government.

British and Irish government sources tonight were being cautious about the ability to satisfy unionist demands for an end to paramilitary activity and nationalist demands for the full implementation of the Agreement.

"A lot of ideas have been kicking around from the parties," one source observed.

"What the Prime Ministers will be trying to do is find a way over the coming months to move the process forward."

Republicans have demanded that there must be movement on further policing reforms, the scaling down of British Army watchtowers and operations as well as the implementation of human rights and equality aspects of the Good Friday Agreement if the paramilitary issue is to be successfully addressed.

They are also anxious to secure guarantees that the political institutions created by the Good Friday Agreement, including North-South arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will never be pulled down.

However, with assembly elections looming, there is also concern about whether Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, facing a stiff challenge from the Rev Ian Paisley`s anti- Agreement Democratic Unionists, will be able to carry his party in endorsing any deal.

Trimble faces a significant anti-Agreement faction within his own party.

Ahern was tonight meeting the leader of the nationalist SDLP Mark Durkan in Dublin as part of a series of meetings in the run-up to his summit with Mr. Blair.

Durkan said before the meeting that he would like the two governments to act "with determination and live up to the promises and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement."

"I would like to see them underpin its full and further implementation but I recognize, of course, that that involves responsibility for all of us and not just them."

Jan. 23, 2003
Attacks Linked to Loyalist Feud

Pipe bomb attacks on bars in north and west Belfast and a gun attack on police have been linked to a feud among loyalist paramilitaries. The police said a high profile security operation continued
overnight in an attempt to counteract loyalist paramilitary activity.

Tensions in the area have been heightened with the escalation of violence during the latest feud between rival factions of the Ulster Defense Association.

The first incident happened at about 2200 GMT on Wednesday when a pipe bomb exploded on the doorstep of a bar in the north of the city.

Shrapnel was blown across the road following the explosion at McKenna's Bar on the Upper Crumlin Road. Police said it could have caused serious injury to anyone close by. A similar device was also thrown at the Cavehill Inn on the Cavehill Road, damaging a shutter. Part of the pipe bomb went through a glass panel of a nearby house and a woman was treated for shock.

Meanwhile, in west Belfast, a controlled explosion was carried out on a pipe bomb which was found outside a social club on the Lower Shankill Road.

And, at about 0045 GMT this morning, shots were fired at police patrolling the Manor Street area of north Belfast as they were investigating a suspicious vehicle.

One man ran off and a blank firing handgun and ammunition were recovered.

The feud began following the expulsion of leading loyalist Johnny Adair and his associate John White from the UDA several months ago.

Adair was re-arrested and returned to prison on Jan. 10 after having his early release license revoked by Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy. Murphy took the decision after receiving a security briefing about the alleged activities of the loyalist leader from Belfast's Shankill area. Two people have been shot dead in recent weeks as a result of the infighting.

Jan. 23, 2003
Ahern Spells Out What Is Required of Paramilitaries

Irish premier Bertie Ahern tonight spelt out what would be required of republicans and loyalists to resolve the difficulties in the peace process.

After a day in which he met British Prime Minister Mr. Tony Blair and Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr. David Trimble, Mr. Ahern spoke at a debate at University College in Dublin.

He said: "While I acknowledge the very substantial contribution made by the IRA ceasefires and acts of decommissioning, the political realities are that the continued operations of paramilitary organizations, both republican and loyalist, have created a crisis of confidence which must be addressed."

"Paramilitary organizations must complete the transition to democratic and peaceful means. Activities, including intelligence gathering, targeting, training, arms procurement, punishment attacks and other criminal activities must end," said Ahern.

"The loyalist feud and the activities of loyalist paramilitaries are a cause of deep concern and recent horrific murders and punishment attacks once again underline the need for strong and effective action by the Police Service of Northern Ireland."

"I welcome the recent successes of the Police Service in taking on loyalist paramilitaries and the approach being taken by the Chief Constable, Hugh Orde."

Ahern said he was confident the Northern Ireland institutions would be restored in time to allow Assembly elections to go ahead in May.

"While our approach in the period ahead should be both collective and comprehensive, it need not be lengthy," he said.

"Time is of the essence. With the necessary political will and the required intensive engagement - and from my contacts with the leaders of the pro-Agreement parties in recent weeks I believe that the necessary political will is there - I believe that it should be possible to resolve the current difficulties and restore the Northern Ireland institutions in sufficient time for the scheduled Assembly elections on May 1st, 2003."

"One thing is clear, there must be no turning back on the agenda for positive change, which the Agreement represents." 

He added: "We have that opportunity in the next few months and, despite the inevitable electoral pressures and internal political constraints, need to seize it by regaining the sense of hope, optimism and courage that gave us the Good Friday Agreement in the first place."

Commenting this evening in London on today's meeting
between the Prime Minister Tony Blair and Mr. Ahern, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP said he would be in touch with the two governments this evening "to get a read of today's meeting."

"Sinn Féin welcomes the movement into more intense discussions. We have been calling for this since last October. For our part we have given a detailed menu to both Dublin and London and we would expect them to come forward with a plan for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement," the West Belfast MP said.

"Today's meeting between An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be judged by us on whether the basis for such a plan was agreed. It is crucial that the substance, timeframe and management of this phase of the process is got right. Essentially what London has to do - in line with Mr. Blair's speech in Belfast last October - is come forward with an act of completion for the Good Friday Agreement," Adams said.

Jan. 24, 2003
IRA Would Respond Imaginatively, Adams Claims

The IRA would "respond imaginatively" if unionists and the British government implemented the Belfast Agreement, Mr. Gerry Adams said in an interview today.

"Clearly if a British government is serious about completing its obligation then it puts a huge onus on republicans to be imaginative," the Sinn Féin president told the Manchester Guardian newspaper.

"If the British Government is wanting the IRA to do big things then the British Government, I think, will have to do big things to create the conditions where there's a potential to get the IRA to move," he said.

He was speaking after the British and Irish governments agreed plans for an all-out push to restore devolution in Northern Ireland. The Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, said after the meeting that a desire existed to have all outstanding issues in the Agreement dealt with once and for all.

Adams says he wants Tony Blair to give a guarantee that the Government will not suspend the power-sharing institutions at Stormont again. He also wants to see a full introduction of the Patten reforms on policing and a scaling down of Britain's military presence.

However, Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, has said that the onus is on republicans to take steps to resolve the current impasse.

Trimble said acts of completion, and not "acts of beginning," were required from the republican movement before progress could be made.

He added that elections to the Stormont Assembly in May could make the political situation worse unless the parties agreed a deal.

Speaking this morning, Trimble said: "There is great concern about what the consequences will be of an election if nothing is sorted out. If we had an election in that context we could find things even worse afterwards."

"I think we have got to see whether it is possible if we can sort things out, that is the preferred option, but it cannot be sorted out unless the republicans do what they should have done years ago."

His comments follow a meeting between the British and Irish Governments yesterday in London.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern met at Downing Street for talks as attempts continue to find a breakthrough in the deadlocked political process.

 Speaking after the meeting, Ahern said there were still difficulties ahead in the peace process. However, he added both governments were "full of determination to complete the outstanding issues."

 "What we want to do from today, and we have charted out a work program for the next few weeks for ourselves, is to intensify our efforts, to pick up from the difficulties that we had late last year, to try and now find a way of getting full implementation of the Agreement," he said.

He said the governments wanted to go back to the joint statement they made in mid-October and move to acts of completion on all aspects.

However, speaking after talks with Mr. Ahern in London, Trimble said the taoiseach told him there was no "salable deal" on the table.

Jan. 24, 2003
Adams Disappointed in Meetings

The meeting between the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the British
Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, has been branded a disappointment by the Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams.

"While I think the discussions have been positive, the reality is yesterday's meeting between the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister can only be called a disappointment," said Adams.

"The most significant thing to yesterday's meeting was that Jamie Oliver cooked a lunch," he added, a reference to the meal prepared for the two leaders by a British celebrity chef.

At a news conference in Belfast this afternoon, Adams said: "We are at a very crucial point in this process."

"We want this to work, it remains our conviction it will work, but if it is to work in this next short period, people in Downing Street have to pull their socks up."

All-party talks will continue in Belfast next week, given added urgency by the proximity of elections scheduled for May and the looming distraction of a possible war in Iraq.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the agenda for round-table talks at Stormont should be the delivery of the complete implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Policing and Justice, Gerry Kelly, MLA, today called for the powers on policing and justice to be transferred to the Assembly and North/South Ministerial Council.

Launching a Sinn Féin discussion document on the issue, Kelly said: "Proper policing and justice structures are essential if we are to move away from the injustices and abuses of the past. The starting point for the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday Agreement has to be the full and faithful implementation of the Patten recommendations."

 The British government had not delivered Patten in full which was the 'minimum threshold', Kelly said.

The MLA for North Belfast said that, in terms of the Criminal Justice system, the British government's position has fallen 'far short of the fundamental overhaul' envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement.

He said that the justice system must be radically reshaped to create a system "which has the confidence of all our people." He added these changes were essential if there was to be an acceptable justice system.

Kelly said Sinn Féin wishes to see the early transfer of powers on policing and justice to the Assembly and the North/South Ministerial Council. This would require: 

* Transfer of powers in the areas of policing and justice to the Northern Assembly and Executive;

* Comprehensive North-South arrangements in relation to policing and justice; 

* Judicial transformation; and

* An end to repressive legislation.

 Kelly said what was needed was to see the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement restored. "In this context the issues of policing and justice should be matters for local democratic accountability, he said.

"The principles in the Good Friday Agreement in respect of institution established under the aegis of the Agreement - the safeguards, checks an balances and an All-Ireland character- need to be applied to structures governing the issues of policing and justice. This will entrench the democratic accountability which is critical to a new beginning to policing and justice in this society," Kelly concluded.

Jan. 24, 2003
IRA Juggernaut Halted, Trimble Says

Sinn Féin has not been smashed but has been hollowed out, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has told his party. Trimble said the "IRA juggernaut" had now been halted.

In a keynote address this afternoon, he also challenged the DUP over its claims of renegotiation of the Agreement. He said the party was incapable of working constructively and "fluffed it" when it had its chance to negotiate.

 Speaking at the annual general meeting of the East Antrim Ulster Unionist Association in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Trimble said unionists had every reason to feel they were "on the front foot" and could look to the future with confidence. He said he believed the UUP would have a successful assembly election and would be vindicated.

"Look at the DUP, they are increasingly coming over to our way of seeing things, much to their supporters' distress,"
he said.

"We know, though, that they are incapable of working the institutions or of making improvements: they had their chance and they fluffed it. The republican juggernaut has been halted - unionists are not going to be rolled into a united Ireland. After their so-called 'long war', Irish republicans face a very long wait indeed for an end to British rule."

Earlier today, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the government was not moving quickly enough on the outstanding issues in the peace process. Adams said he was impatient with the pace of politics in terms of changes to policing and demilitarization. The West Belfast MP was speaking after a meeting between the British and Irish Prime Ministers in London on Thursday.

 Further round-table talks are to be held in Belfast next Thursday.

Jan. 28, 2003
Sinn Féin Emphasizes Equality Agenda

Ulster Unionists were today urged to acknowledge the need to ensure equal treatment for Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities under the Good Friday Agreement. 

 Former Sinn Féin health minister Bairbre de Brun expressed concern about the comments of a former Cabinet colleague in the Stormont Executive, Dermot Nesbitt, that there was no need for an Equality Commission in the North.

De Brun argued today: "Commitments in the Good Friday Agreement to measures such as those aimed at eliminating the differential in unemployment rates between the Protestant and Catholic communities must be implemented. All parties to the Agreement are obliged to be actively engaged in promoting the equality agenda. We are concerned, therefore, at the refusal of the Ulster Unionist Party to attend the recent implementation group meeting on equality and human rights."

"We are also disappointed to hear a UUP spokesperson, Dermot Nesbitt, repeat previous claims that there is no discrimination in the six counties and that there is no need for an Equality Commission or for state action to address the unemployment differential. The most recent report on Community Differentials and Targeting Social Needs states that Catholics are still less likely to be in employment, are at greater risk of living in lower income households and/or are more dependent on benefits as well as at greater risk of experiencing multiple deprivation."

The West Belfast MLA said there was a need for the British Government to deliver on its commitment on equality in the Good Friday Agreement.

The Ulster Unionists, she claimed, had presided over `systematic discrimination` for decades when they formed a one-party government in the early years of the Northern Ireland state.

She continued: "Some Ulster Unionist Party spokespersons appear to be oblivious to the injustice that they inflicted on the people, including both Catholics and Protestants living in areas affected by discrimination and inequality. Institutional neglect must be tackled so that our people, irrespective of creed or political opinion, are afforded equality in all aspects of their lives."

As efforts continue to revive the Northern Ireland power- sharing executive and Assembly, Sinn Féin has pressed for the British Government to pledge it will honor its commitment on equality under the Good Friday Agreement.

The party has also been pressing hard for more policing reforms, the dismantling of Army watchtowers in nationalist areas, an amnesty for paramilitaries who have been on the run, and for commitments on human rights and the Irish language to be delivered.

Pro-Good Friday Agreement parties are expected to join the British and Irish Governments at a round table meeting at Stormont on Thursday aimed at restoring devolution.

However, the Ulster Unionists and the loyalist Progressive Unionists will boycott the talks.

The UUP has expressed dissatisfaction with the round table discussion, claiming the real negotiations focusing on the future of the IRA are taking place in Downing Street and are more important.

The PUP has decided not to attend because it insists it is being shut out of the Downing Street talks with republicans.
 

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin vice president Pat Doherty said today that elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly must go ahead on May 1 as planned. 

 With some Ulster Unionists signaling the poll should be delayed to enable them to test whether any potential move by the IRA to restore devolution is genuine, the West Tyrone MP restated Sinn Féin`s firm opposition to the date being pushed back.

Doherty also insisted that Sinn Féin was not looking for any `sweeteners` such as more time to sort out the electoral registration process in return for any delay.

"We don`t need sweeteners," he said. "We need an election on May 1. That is what is required and that is what the people require. We have to see the outworking of democracy."

With the Ulster Unionists facing a stiff challenge from the Reverend Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists and the SDLP under serious threat of losing the primary position in nationalism at Stormont to Sinn Féin, the British Government has been urged behind closed doors to push back the elections.

Doherty argued today that any delay would move politics `into very dangerous territory. "The people would be without an elected forum and it would be a very bad signal for the outworking of the whole negotiations," he said.

"I just think it would be dangerous to create political vacuums. Historically, this state has been a political failure and what we are collectively trying to do is make politics work. When your mandate runs out, what you do is you have another election."

Doherty added Sinn Féin had made its views on the election very clear to the British Government.

Feb. 2, 2003
Governments Challenged to Produce Peace Plan

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern were tonight challenged to produce plans to break the deadlock in the peace process at talks in Northern Ireland next week. As President George W Bush`s special adviser on Northern Ireland Ambassador Richard Haass met Mr. Ahern and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen in Dublin, a senior Sinn Féin source claimed speculation of a fresh initiative from the IRA had `no basis`.

And he also warned that London and Dublin republicans believed "any demand for the surrender of the IRA was unrealizable."

He said: "Both Mr. Blair and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern are coming here next week and they intend to meet all parties individually. We would hope that it is their intention to put their plan for the way ahead to the parties. They have met a number of the parties, various parties individually on a number of occasions since the British Government suspended the institutions.

"Presumably they are well aware of all the views of the parties and certainly well aware of our views. Sinn Féin has provided both governments with a comprehensive document outlining the areas of the Agreement which have not been implemented. Now the only possible purpose of next week`s meeting is for the governments to spell out their plan and we are anxious to hear what they have to say."

With republicans demanding more police and criminal justice reforms, a comprehensive program for the dismantling of military installations and the implementation of equality, human rights and Irish language commitments under the Good Friday Agreement, the source said both governments knew what they must do.

However, he claimed the parties and governments were still too far away from a deal.

And with the IRA under pressure from the governments and unionists, the source said: "There has been recent media speculation about the prospects of some significant move by the IRA in the coming weeks. As far as I am aware this speculation has no basis and has arisen as a result of government briefings and is clearly designed to shift the onus for action on to republicans. It is our view that the responsibility rests squarely with the two governments - particularly the British Government and we have seen nothing, absolutely nothing to suggest that it is prepared to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement."

The Sinn Féin source called on unionists to also address
ongoing loyalist violence, not just in the Ulster Defense Association feud but vigorously opposing attacks on the Catholic community.

He continued: "Republicans have delivered the republican constituency for the Good Friday Agreement and over and above that, the IRA has moved on a number of occasions. They have rescued the process from collapse. The demand now for the surrender of the IRA in order for the British government to honor the commitments it already entered into are not realizable." 

Meanwhile,Haass today urged 'bold thinking and bold acting' in a bid to move on the peace process. 

 Speaking after a meeting in Dublin with Irish foreign minister Brian Cowen - and ahead of seeing premier Bertie Ahern - the American envoy said there was a real opportunity now to make progress in Northern Ireland and the United States was urging that everything should be done to take advantage of it.

He said: "We, for our part, stand ready to help in the on- going efforts to solve the situation in Northern Ireland. We are doing whatever we can to bring about action. And what we are calling for at this time is bolding thinking and bold acting."

Earlier, Ahern told the Dublin parliament that Haass, though due to give up his Northern Ireland role this year, would be in place to help until `at least the end of next month.`

The Irish Prime Minister was responding to Dail queries about speculation that Mr. Haass would be leaving his current role in the US State Department in the summer.

Ahern told the house: "He has confirmed that he will be available for whatever time we need him between now and the end of March and that will be very helpful."

Ahern said Mr. Haass had proved extremely helpful while working with the British and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland parties.

"I think he can be very helpful to us over the next few weeks and he has an enormous grip on the situation. He knows of the arguments I suppose because he has dealt with issues in all parts of the world. He has a long experience of these issues."

After his meeting with Ahern tonight, Haass was going to Belfast, where he will tomorrow meet pro-Good Friday Agreement parties like Sinn Féin, the nationalist SDLP, the cross community Alliance Party and Women`s Coalition and the loyalist Progressive Unionists.

The Ambassador has also arranged meetings with the Rev Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists and with community and voluntary groups.

The visit coincides with reports that he will give up his present job for a new post as president of the influential US Council of Foreign Relations.

Feb. 4, 2003
DUP Are in Contact with Sinn Féin, Says McGuinness

Sinn Féin is engaged in indirect talks with the anti- Agreement Democratic Unionist Party despite its policy of no contact with republicans, according to Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness.

The allegation has been firmly denied by the DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson.

But McGuinness, MP for Mid-Ulster, said he stood by his claim that contact was taking place through third parties. "There is no direct contact between Sinn Féin and the DUP," he said.

"We haven't met with Peter Robinson or Nigel Dodds, or anybody acting on their behalf. But we are talking to people who are talking to them and they know who those people are. In fact, the approach didn't come from us to them - the approach actually came from them to us. But it wasn't a direct approach - it was through third parties."

Allegations about secret contacts between Sinn Féin and the DUP first surfaced on Spotlight last year. The Ulster Unionist claim was unsubstantiated and rejected by the DUP.

Now the claim has resurfaced - and this time it is coming from Sinn Féin.

Robinson said: "There has been no contact - either through intermediaries or in any other fashion with Sinn Féin. We are open and above board, people know exactly what we are doing and we will not be telling people we are doing one thing in public and doing something else in private."

While the latest allegations are unsubstantiated, they are likely to open up the DUP to fresh attacks from rivals as
an election looms.

Last week, the DUP said there should be a new political agreement which would prevent Sinn Féin members taking their places in a devolved executive. In a speech to his party supporters in North Antrim, party leader Ian Paisley said Ulster Unionists were running scared of elections.

He said the assembly election would provide an opportunity to force new negotiations leading to a democratic deal that unionists could support.

In a separate speech to the Young Ulster Unionists last week, Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said a decommissioning gesture from the IRA carried out on camera would not provide evidence the organization had ceased to engage in paramilitary activity.

He said the responsibility lay with the IRA to take the lead on disarming and disbanding, setting an example which should be followed by other paramilitary groups.

Feb. 4, 2003
Minister Cowen meets with Richard Haass

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen, T.D., met this afternoon with Richard Haass, President Bush's Ambassador-at-Large with overall responsibility for Ireland. Ambassador Haass last visited Dublin in November, 2002.

The Minister and Ambassador Haass discussed recent developments in Northern Ireland, including the current round of talks. The Minister stressed that it is only by engagement and dialogue that it will be possible to build the necessary confidence, to resolve the outstanding issues and restore the devolved institutions as quickly as possible.

He reiterated the Government's commitment to charting a comprehensive way to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and emphasized the determination of the Government to continue to work closely with all those involved to address all outstanding matters. In this regard, the visit by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair to Hillsborough next week would be an important staging post in the path to an overall acts of completion package.

The Minister took the opportunity to express the Government's appreciation for the ongoing support of President Bush and the US Administration for the peace process in Northern Ireland.

During their meeting, Ambassador Haass and Minister Cowen also exchanged views on current international issues, including Iraq and the Middle East.