The following news wrapup has been compiled by the Irish American Information Service and Irish American Post staff.

DUP URGED TO ENGAGE WITH SINN FÉIN 
10/15/04 11:23 EST

The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists must face Sinn Féin across the negotiating table if they are prepared to meet loyalists, the party was told today.

The moderate unionist Alliance Party deputy leader Eileen Bell was reacting to comments from the DUP`s Peter Robinson that his party was looking at how it could persuade loyalists to abandon paramilitary activity.

Robinson said last night the DUP were exploring how they could influence loyalists after Progressive Unionist leader David Ervine, whose party is linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force, appealed for help at the PUP`s annual conference in Belfast last weekend.

The DUP deputy leader confirmed: "We`re discussing it at the present time, so clearly we haven`t ruled it out, and how best it can be done is something that we`ll have to consider. But I think we have a responsibility to use our influence... how best we use that influence is something that the days and weeks will perhaps reveal."

The Democratic Unionist Party has consistently refused to engage directly with Sinn Féin in the current talks to restore power sharing at Stormont.

In an interview yesterday, Robinson insisted there had to be a complete end to all paramilitary and criminal activity as well as a handing over of all illegal weapons.

The East Belfast MP said he was also trying to secure confidence-building measures for the loyalist and unionist community.

"There is massive deprivation in unionist areas ignored by the government," he noted.

However Alliance deputy leader Eileen Bell criticized the DUP`s refusal to engage directly with Sinn Féin, claiming it was hampering efforts to revive the Assembly.

The North Down Assembly member said: "It would be the ultimate in hypocrisy if the DUP were now to talk officially to the PUP and UPRG, yet refuse to engage with Sinn Féin. How could the DUP ignore Sinn Féin when the IRA has gone further towards `going out of business` than any of the loyalist paramilitary groups?"

"Only last night, the DUP`s Sammy Wilson sat across a table from Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty on the BBC`s Hearts and Minds show. Obviously the DUP has no problem sharing a studio with Sinn Féin, but if it is serious about restoring the Assembly it will have to share an Executive too - and that means talking to republicans."

Nationalist SDLP Assembly member Alban Maginness accused Mr. Robinson of hypocrisy.

The North Belfast MLA said: "For years, the DUP has paralyzed the political process here and denied us the benefits of proper devolved democracy because they would not talk to the representatives of terrorists. For years, they rearranged the seating in radio and TV studios rather than breathe the same air as Sinn Féin. Yet now they are prepared to sit down for cozy chats with loyalist paramilitary groups which are not even on ceasefire." 

Maginness said the DUP needed to be realistic about all paramilitary activity and not just that allegedly involving republicans.

"Perhaps when they sit down with the loyalist brigadiers, they might want to discuss drug dealing and extortion or racist attacks in the Donegall Pass where they have failed the most basic test of responsible political leadership," he said.

"At some point, they just might like to bring up continuing terrorization of Catholics. Is this sudden shift of attitude motivated by their hunger for power ? Is the DUP perhaps softening up the hard edge of its own constituency to prepare it for two-party coalition with Sinn Féin ?"

ADAMS ON SINN FÉIN - FIANNA FAIL COALITION 
10/16/04 13:32 EST

Sinn Féin will not enter a coalition government with mainstream political parties in the Republic of Ireland unless by doing so the equality agenda in the North is advanced, Mr. Gerry Adams said today.

"Sinn Féin will be in government in the north in the time ahead," Mr. Adams wrote in today's edition of Village Magazine, "but while I am Party President we will only consider coalition in the south if that advances the process of change and the struggle for equality."

"We have no interest in Ministerial seats for the sake of it. And we certainly could not embrace, never mind support, the punitive anti-people measures, which the conservative parties advocate. Neither could we proceed without a real strategy for Irish unity," he added.

Mr. Adams said Fianna Fail and the other parties were "fixated" with the growth of Sinn Féin.

"The Government's position and that of the other conservative parties, that they will not form a coalition with us until the IRA deals with the weapons issue, is a nonsense which flies in the face of the rights of the electorate. Those who ask would Fianna Fail be in coalition with Sinn Féin are asking the wrong question. Of course Fianna Fail would if it suited them. But the real question is will Sinn Féin join such a coalition?"

On Wednesday Fianna Fail moved to distance itself from Mr. Dermot Ahern's upbeat remarks about future Sinn Féin participation in government, saying the party had major steps to take before it can be seen as a coalition partner.

The Government issued a statement outlining the Taoiseach's view that paramilitarism must end, decommissioning of weapons must take place, and private armies eliminated before Fianna Fail would "review" its current opposition to Sinn Féin participation in government.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahern, said on Tuesday that it was "only a matter of time" before Sinn Féin was in government in the Republic.

Speaking to reporters at Hillsborough, Mr. Dermot Ahern said Fianna Fail's view that Sinn Féin should not be in government would change if circumstances changed. "I hope that happens in the future," he said.

Also today, Sinn Féin urged the Democratic Unionists to engage in direct talks in order to break the political deadlock.

West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty said that while dialogue was continuing with the two governments to restore the powersharing institutions, direct negotiations between the two largest parties in the Assembly was essential.

"It is a huge challenge for the DUP to come forward and have the courage of their convictions and have direct dialogue with us. It is very difficult to see how you can finally go into a powersharing Executive if they continue this stance of not talking directly to Sinn Féin," he said.

Both the DUP and Sinn Féin leadership were in London this week for discussions with officials from both governments as efforts were stepped up to clinch a deal.

London and Dublin are trying to come up with a formula to which all the parties can agree to kickstart the powersharing Assembly.

During intensive talks at Leeds Castle in Kent last month, political leaders came tantalizingly close to securing a deal which would have meant the IRA giving up all its weapons and a restoration of the institutions.

However, the DUP are demanding fundamental changes to the Good Friday Agreement including a reduction in the powers of ministers. Nationalists view this as an attempt to return to a crude form of unionist majority rule.

Signs that the gap could be beginning to narrow emerged today with DUP Deputy leader Peter Robinson saying he did not rule out a target date being for the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive.

The DUP has so far resisted nationalist pressure for a fixed deadline for the transfer of powers.

But Mr. Robinson said any targets would have to reflect confidence across the community that local politicians were ready to take on the role of policing and justice.

"The target can only be realized if the community has the faith in the process that would follow - not simply because the calendar suggests this is the day it should happen," he said.

Mr. Doherty said his party was ready for doing a deal and was not against making ministers more accountable.

However, he added that any agreement must not be at the expense of undermining the Good Friday Agreement.

"I think that everybody accepts that if we can get the politics of the situation resolved the IRA would not be found wanting. We are in daily contact with the two governments and we have an absolute sense of where they stand in all of this," he added.

AHERN COMMENTS ON SINN FÉIN - FIANNA FAIL COALITION
10/17/04 14:16 EST

Irish premier Bertie Ahern insisted today that IRA decommissioning must be complete and paramilitarism must be at an end before Fianna Fail contemplates entering government with Sinn Féin.

However, Mr. Ahern refused to speculate when this may be.

Questioned by reporters this morning about comments by Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern, last week, the Taoiseach said: "When we get to completing the issue of decommissioning, when we see an end to paramilitarism, when we get a clear understanding...that we have one recognized army in this country, then we can feel that we have moved to a new stage."

Speaking after the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in Bodenstown, Co Kildare, Mr. Ahern added: "Until we get to that position, we can't speculate about it, and in the 40 or 50 times I've been asked this question, I will not speculate on it."

On Wednesday Fianna Fail moved to distance itself from Mr. Dermot Ahern's upbeat remarks about future Sinn Féin participation in government, saying the party had major steps to take before it can be seen as a coalition partner.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it was "only a matter of time" before Sinn Féin was in government in the Republic. Speaking to reporters at Hillsborough he said Fianna Fail's view that Sinn Féin should not be in government would change if circumstances changed. "I hope that happens in the future," he said.

Reacting directly to Mr. Ahern's comments today, the Taoiseach said: "Dermot Ahern did an interview during the week. I didn't know he was doing the interview, I was away, and I the first thing I saw about Dermot Ahern's interview was your newspaper's headlines on it. The essential point in this is that our Constitution states there can be one Oglaigh na hEireann. At the moment there are two. So that's it, that answers the question. Dermot Ahern said that."

During his speech at the Wolfe Tone event, Mr. Ahern said "no stone must be left unturned" to ensure the Belfast Agreement is fully implemented.

"Given the scale of our ambition and the opportunity that now exists to achieve it, there is a heavy burden on all of those within republicanism to bring this about," Mr. Ahern said.

"A new Ireland based on the ambitions and ideals of the Good Friday Agreement is now an option within our grasp. History will judge harshly those who temporize and in so doing lose this historic opportunity."

REPORTS OF MOVEMENT IN PEACE PROCESS 
10/18/04 12:42 EST

A breakthrough in the Northern Ireland political process may be just weeks away, Northern Ireland's secretary of state has said.

Paul Murphy said he thought the DUP was prepared to share power with Sinn Féin and a major IRA decommissioning move could be imminent.

"I would hope that we're talking about weeks rather than months," he said.

"I wouldn't want to be any more specific than that other than to say that intensive discussions are going on behind the scenes."

Mr. Murphy told a meeting of the British-Irish Inter- Parliamentary Body in Chepstow, Wales today he was confident a deal could be struck soon to break the deadlock in the stalled political process.

"On the basis, of course, that the deal is done with regard to paramilitary activity and decommissioning, which I think is something that we can certainly look forward to," he said.

"I think there's a seriousness amongst all the parties now in Northern Ireland to try to ensure that we see an end to direct-rule, that we see the institutions coming back and that we see an end to paramilitary activity. I think if the conditions are fulfilled and confidence can be restored, I have no doubt in my mind that the parties are prepared to work together and particularly the two biggest parties, Sinn Féin and the DUP."

Mr. Murphy said he was convinced that all the Northern Ireland parties were determined to make progress as soon as possible to restore the institutions at Stormont.

"Who knows when there will be a Westminster election, we know that there are local government elections in Northern Ireland next year," he said.

"Frankly we can't keep on forever in this position of a suspension of our institutions."

Sinn Féin TD Arthur Morgan was among a host of politicians in the 68-member body who also suggested a breakthrough may be close.

Mr. Morgan said: "I hope that in the next few days we will be in a position to welcome a breakthrough in the situation in Ireland."

Fianna Fail Senator Paschal Mooney said he was in no doubt that the IRA was poised to make a significant act in the coming weeks.

However, earlier today, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said he had "grave concerns" about the position of the British and Irish Governments over possible changes to the institutions.

Mr. McGuinness said that while Sinn Féin was still up for doing a deal, the parties needed to work towards a speedy conclusion.

"The fundamentals of the Agreement, including the checks and balances which are of such crucial importance to nationalists and republicans, will not be bartered or negotiated away by Sinn Féin," he said.

Meanwhile, the SDLP leader Mark Durkan has warned the governments against imposing proposals on the political parties in the next few weeks.

Mr. Durkan said this would be a recipe for "further problems" and would not bring stability.

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent last month, Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

However, the two governments were unable to get the Northern Ireland Assembly parties to sign up to a deal over power-sharing after unionists and nationalists clashed over future devolved institutions. 

DUP WILL GAIN FROM UUP REFUSAL TO JOIN GOVERNMENT SAYS WILSON 
10/19/04 11:34 EST

Democratic Unionists will gain more ministerial posts in the next power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland if David Trimble's Ulster Unionists decide to go into opposition, it was claimed tonight. 

In his speech to DUP members in Lower Ards, East Antrim Assembly member Sammy Wilson said his party had nothing to fear from any tactical move by the UUP, not to go into government.

Mr. Wilson said: "As far as we are concerned, it matters little whether they enter government or not. Their refusal to enter an administration will give more ministerial positions to the DUP and if they are as ineffective in opposition as they were in negotiations and government, our ministers are unlikely to fear being scrutinized by clueless Ulster unionists."

Mr. Wilson was responding to recent speculation that David Trimble`s UUP could refuse ministerial posts if devolution returns and instead concentrate on being a party of opposition.

North Belfast UUP Assembly member, Fred Cobain, has advocated the strategy but his leader, David Trimble, has yet to give his full backing to the idea.

Nationalist SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, has also signaled that during crucial peace process talks at Leeds Castle in Kent last month, his party toyed with the idea of also refusing ministerial seats if they felt that they could not sign up to a deal to restore power sharing.

Ulster Unionist and SDLP tacticians have discussed the idea that the DUP and Sinn Féin should be left to form a government together.

Mr. Wilson said at the branch meeting in Ballywalter tonight that Ulster Unionists were huffing and puffing about not entering an administration.

But he said this did not square with the party`s willingness in the past to sit in government with Sinn Féin while republicans remained armed.

He also claimed the rival UUP were sniping from the sidelines at every proposal in the current negotiations because they wanted the talks to fail and did not want a deal which would see the DUP achieving IRA disarmament and an end to paramilitary activity.

Mr. Wilson also rounded on the nationalist SDLP for adhering to the Good Friday Agreement as it stood.

"The SDLP have now found a niche for themselves as the defenders of the Agreement," the East Antrim MLA said.

"Not a comma or full stop is to be changed. Even though they know that the Agreement has proven unworkable, they would still cut off their political nose to spite their pro-Agreement face. Our message to the SDLP is plain. All of the changes we are proposing are to ensure workable and fair government. The benefits of any new agreement will not be experienced by a narrow party political interest. They will affect everyone and benefit the community as a whole."

Also today, Sinn Féin has said that a question mark still hangs over the Democratic Unionists' commitment to power sharing in Northern Ireland.

As British and Irish officials continued to focus on how they could restore devolved government at Stormont, Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said it was essential the deadlock in Northern Ireland`s political process should be broken.

The Foyle MLA said in Dublin: "The two governments are not simply facilitators or commentators on this process. They both have a crucial role to play particularly in honoring their outstanding commitments, if we are to achieve agreement on a comprehensive package."

"Four weeks ago there was progress made at Leeds Castle. However it is crucial that this work is brought to a speedy conclusion. Republicans want to see a deal done. We want to see the political institutions back up and running and the outstanding elements of the Good Friday Agreement implemented. However the safeguards and protections in the Good Friday Agreement cannot be diluted. There has to be democratic accountability in policing."

"Both governments have declared their belief that the DUP is for power sharing. There is no evidence thus far to support this and it flies in the face of the DUP attitude in local councils where they have majority control."

Since last month`s Leeds Castle talks in Kent, British and Irish officials have tried to come up with a formula to which all the parties can agree to kickstart the Assembly.

During the Leeds Castle talks, Northern Ireland`s political leaders came tantalizingly close to securing a deal which would have meant the IRA giving up all its weapons and making a statement on its future in return for a restoration of the institutions. However, the Reverend Ian Paisley`s DUP baulked at the deal.

The nationalist SDLP and Sinn Féin, however, have accused the party of trying to create a veto on the work of other parties` ministers in a future executive and also of trying to undermine cross border co-operation under the Good Friday Agreement.

With the parties stalled on future power sharing, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy on Monday appeared to set a two week deadline for progress.

He told a meeting of the British Irish Inter Parliamentary Body in Chepstow, Wales that the finishing line in the peace process was in sight.

"Anyone who understands Northern Ireland will know that trust will not be established overnight. It will grow slowly, sometimes painfully. But I believe that within the next two weeks both sides have the opportunity to take dramatic, decisive and unequivocal steps forward which themselves will form the basis of a new relationship."

Mr. Murphy is due to review the state of the talks in Dublin tomorrow at a meeting with the Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern.

DIFFICULTIES REMAIN DESPITE GOVERNMENT OPTIMISM
10/20/04 15:28 EST

Work is still going on behind the scenes in an attempt to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland, it was claimed today.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Dermot Ahern and Northern Ireland Secretary Mr. Paul Murphy said decommissioning, paramilitarism and policing were still being discussed by the parties and the British and the Irish governments.

As the two men met in Dublin, Mr. Ahern said: "There is a tremendous amount of work going on in the background. There are a number of key issues and we will make more efforts over the coming days to pull those together. There is a window of opportunity. I think that's accepted by everybody. In the meantime we have to put the shoulder to the wheel."

As momentum gathered towards a possible resolution, Mr. Murphy reiterated his recent comments that he wants to see a resolution "in weeks rather than months."

He said: "It's in everybody's interests to keep on working on these issues and try to resolve them as quickly as we can."

Mr. Ahern will hold more talks with members of the Ulster Unionist Party in Dublin tomorrow. 

Mr. Murphy warned: "You can never put a complete deadline on these things. It is far better to deal with these issues now when we can."

He said there was "a mood of willingness and understanding" among the parties given that it was the second anniversary of the suspension of the institutions.

He added: "For two years direct rule has been operating in Northern Ireland. But I want to shed that as soon as I can possibly can so that local politicians can take decisions locally." 

Despite Mr. Murphy's statements of optimism, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams expressed surprise at the extent of the positive briefing by the British and Irish governments.

Of course, a breakthrough was possible, Adams said. 

"That's what we're working for and it will happen but better to wait until it is actually achieved before flagging it up. The British Secretary of State also disclosed that there were ongoing intensive discussions. There's no great deal about that, I suppose. We have all the time been engaged with the two governments in an effort to see the outstanding issues resolved. But no matter how much they may pretend or present themselves to the contrary, not all the parties are involved in this process. That's not Sinn Féin's doing or our wish, but I'm sure they are irked to hear public confirmation of such a process because it reduces them to the role of spectators and that can't be good."

"I won't commit the sin I have accused the governments of, but by following the logic of their utterances over the last number of months it is possible to form certain conclusions. For example, in June there were all-party discussions hosted by both governments in Lancaster House in London. These, despite Sinn Féin protests were brought to a halt because of the advent of the orange marching season and because senior DUP representatives had to go to Harvard. Obviously on business much more important than the effort to get a breakthrough back home," said Adams.

"In their absence the big task for the rest of us was to try to get a peaceful summer. We succeeded. Only just."

"The next summit was at Leeds Castle. There the two governments told the world that they were satisfied that the IRA was going to make an unprecedented contribution to the process. The DUP appeared to hit a wobble. It was obvious to everyone that the IRA would only move in the context of a comprehensive agreement. As I said at the time the IRA was unlikely to move for less than the Good Friday Agreement," Adams continued.

"So where stood the DUP? For their part they have been sending positive signals. They said they were for powersharing. Ian Paisley visited Dublin to meet with the Taoiseach as part of a publicly stated desire to build good neighborliness. All this was positive and welcome but a month after the Leeds Talks the process is no further on. If the governments are satisfied with what they have proclaimed the IRA is going to do then who are they waiting on? Obviously the DUP. And if Ministers Ahern and Murphy have said there is going to be a breakthrough then clearly the logic of their position is that this must be coming from the DUP. I see no evidence of that, though it is possible," the Sinn Féin leader said.

"As I understand it the DUP are seeking changes in the Agreement which would alter its fundamentals. Regular Irish Voice readers may know the governments have ruled this out, and I hope they are serious about this. But I have concerns, not least because both governments have tampered with the Agreement already. The suspension of the institutions is one example of this. The power which a British Minister now has, contrary to the Agreement, to take action against Irish political parties is another example."

"The DUP are also making their own particular demands of the IRA at a time when their newly proclaimed conversion to powersharing has yet to move beyond the rhetoric. In fact in every local government council where the DUP has majority power in the north of Ireland they refuse to share power. There is also the issue of policing. The DUP is a devolutionist party and obviously it would like to see the powers of policing and justice transferred from London to Belfast, but thus far it has resisted efforts to do this. Why?," Adams asked.

"So, from all of the above there is still a mountain to climb for Ian Paisleys party. I hope the two Ministers are right. Sinn Féin is leaving no stone unturned in our effort to bring about a breakthrough. The big question arising from the Ministers remarks is what do they do if there is not a breakthrough? How long must we wait for the DUP to come into the real world?" Adams concluded.

DUP SEEKING TO HUMILIATE IRA SAYS McLAUGHLIN 
10/23/04 11:24 EST

The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party was today accused seeking to humiliate the IRA with its demand for visible decommissioning of the paramilitary group's arsenal of weapons.

Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said the DUP was continually moving the goalposts during the search for a breakthrough agreement which see the return of devolved power-sharing at Stormont.

"We have heard all the stuff about Stephen Spielberg-type coverage of IRA initiatives. Those kind of things are designed to be provocative, and also designed to be counter-effective in terms of any goal of taking arms out of the equation," he said.

Sinn Féin, he said, had been arguing for a strategy to address the issue of republican weapons. It wanted unionists to address the continued existence and activity of loyalist paramilitary groups instead of putting obstacles up.

"Central to the DUP position, I think, would be a humiliating scenario for republicans that simply isn`t going to happen," Mr. McLaughlin said.

Within unionism there was a fixation with the IRA and a lack of confidence within unionism that it could manage, on the basis of equality with nationalists and republicans, the political process, he argued.

"I think the goalposts get moved all the time, there is an attempt to set the threshold higher than republicans will cope with as an excuse for not actually dealing with the responsibility and the mandate we all received in the most recent election," said Mr. McLaughlin.

The DUP had not shown the kind of political leadership which they had promised after the last Assembly election when they became the main voice of unionism, he said.

And he asked whether the DUP was serious about getting an agreement. "Is it another delaying tactic? Do they believe that the IRA would step forward to do anything in circumstances where the Good Friday Agreement was diluted."

People needed to "get real," he said. "People need to tell those who were posturing, those who were throwing obstacles in the way of bringing back the Executive the facts of life. Tell them the realities, tell them to face up to those realities, then I think we can all get on with the business of taking the gun out of Irish politics," he said.

He said both the British and Irish governments were satisfied republicans were serious about the conflict resolution process and building the political process.

But pointing to the DUP he said "there are problems when it comes to finding partners, people able to put together a deal and in fact deliver a deal from the unionist side."

DECOMMISSIONING MUST BE VISIBLE SAYS ROBINSON 
10/24/04 13:11 EST

There must be a visual aspect to the decommissioning of IRA weaponry, Democratic Unionist Peter Robinson has insisted.

The DUP deputy leader said his party's position on IRA disarmament and activity had been "clear and consistent throughout the negotiating process."

He was responding to remarks by Sinn Féin that the DUP was seeking to humiliate the IRA over its demand for visible decommissioning.

Sinn Féin's chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said yesterday that the DUP were "moving the goalposts" and increasing the threshold in relation to an end to IRA arms and activity.

Mr. Robinson said the DUP had not moved the goalposts on the issue of "building confidence regarding decommissioning and the need to end all IRA activity whether terrorist or criminal."

"We have been very clear that the days of smoke and mirror tricks are over and that there must be a visual aspect to the decommissioning of IRA weaponry," he said.

"Sinn Féin/IRA is at the forefront of demands to have security installations dismantled in a very public way with the world's press and media being present. Crown forces and the Unionist community have been humiliated by the way in which bases and stations have been demolished and by the treatment of those who have defended our province."

He added: "Mitchel McLaughlin's remarks would appear to be indicative of someone who is attempting to develop an exit strategy from the process and who is only interested in disengaging from making the commitment that Sinn Féin/IRA know must be made."

On Saturday, Mr. McLaughlin said: "We have heard all the stuff about Steven Spielberg-type coverage of IRA initiatives (on decommissioning). Those kind of things are designed to be provocative and also designed to be counter-effective in terms of any goal of taking arms out of the equation."

Earlier this week, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams accused the DUP of making demands on the IRA when its own power-sharing credentials were "unproven."

Mr. Adams said the governments were satisfied the IRA was going to make an "unprecedented contribution" to the process in the context of a comprehensive agreement.

The sticking points in the process have included the method of electing a first and deputy first minister, a date when the assembly can control policing, and whether or not 30 assembly members can challenge ministerial decisions.

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent last month, Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

However, the two governments were unable to get the DUP to sign up to what was on offer from republicans.

SINN FÉIN AND DUP IN LONDON FOR TALKS 
10/26/04 13:26 EST

It is understood senior members of both Sinn Féin and the DUP are in London today for separate talks on the Northern Ireland political impasse. 

It is believed those involved include Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin`s chief negotiator and the DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson.

The British prime minister, Tony Blair, said in London yesterday that the log jam needed to be broken urgently.

A ceasefire watchdog is expected to deliver its second report on continuing paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland to the British Government on Wednesday.

The Independent Monitoring Commission was set up last year to meet the demands of Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.

According to one source, the Independent Monitoring Commission's report will show a "reasonably significant reduction" in IRA activity, including paramilitary shootings and assaults.

The four commissioners - Lord Alderdice, John Grieve, Joe Brosnan and Richard Kerr - met in Belfast last week to finalize their report.

The report will be hand-delivered to the Irish Government on Thursday, and both the Northern Ireland Office and Dublin are expected to take a few days to study its findings before making them public. 

Meanwhile, the head of the decommissioning body, General John de Chastelain, has returned to Belfast, despite a lack of certainty about the outcome of the present round of negotiations.

AHERN ON STATE OF DEVOLUTION TALKS 
10/28/04 08:56 EST

Political parties in Northern Ireland were today warned talks to restart the devolved institutions must soon bring results.

Irish Premier Bertie Ahern said progress was being made on several burning issues but it was time to take the final steps to re-establish the Stormont Assembly in Belfast.

Mr. Ahern said all sides were frustrated by difficult issues of decommissioning, policing and paramilitarism, but that talks would go on.

"We can`t go on indefinitely but we`re not at the stage of calling it just yet," Mr. Ahern said.

"We made a lot of progress in a lot of weeks but not enough. Where we are at, it`s ongoing work, and it`s quite difficult, we`re trying to make progress and it`s true to say we are in some difficult areas."

Mr. Ahern added he hoped to discuss the situation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a meeting of European heads tomorrow.

The pair are due to travel to Rome for the signing of the European Treaty in Rome.

Unionists and nationalists are deadlocked over power-sharing at Stormont while British and Irish government officials are working to bridge the gap between parties.

But Mr. Ahern said no single party was to blame for the slow pace of talks on how to kickstart the Assembly.

He said the Democratic Unionist Party were the latest into negotiations in terms of parties and claimed they were as committed as any other group to resolving the impasse.

"I think within every party in Northern Ireland there is different levels of people that want to move at a different pace. That`s true in all parties," Mr. Ahern said.

He pointed to past problems faced by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, grassroots supporters of Sinn Féin and also elsewhere within the unionist community.

Mr. Ahern said he would be using tomorrow`s European meeting to sit down with Mr. Blair to discuss what stage talks are at.

"It`s still a work in progress," he said.

Earlier today, the 'Independent' Monitoring Commission delivered its third report to the Irish and British governments.

The contentious commission, set up at the insistence of Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, monitors paramilitary ceasefires and acts of weapons decommissioning.

Its report was presented today to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. McDowell, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. Paul Murphy.

It is expected to be published by the governments next week.

GOVERNMENTS MUST BRING FORWARD PROPOSALS SAYS ADAMS 
11/04/04 17:22 EST

The British and Irish Governments must bring forward proposals within the terms of the Good Friday Agreement to see its full implementation in the event that political unionism refuses to make a deal, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said in a speech in New York tonight.

Mr. Adams also said direct rule in the North was not a long-term solution and called for the expansion of cross-border bodies.

Addressing the annual Friends of Sinn Féin dinner in New York on Thursday, Mr. Adams said the Democratic Unionist Party had continued to block political progress in recent negotiations.

Mr. Adams said the DUP was playing games and the two governments must not tolerate it. "But the core of the crisis is rooted in the resistance by political unionism to the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and their opposition to the agenda of change the Agreement heralded. It is rooted in the failure of the British system to challenge this," Adams said.

Mr. Adams called on the British Government, in particular, to stand up for the Good Friday Agreement and to shift its focus from allowing unionist parties to dictate the pace of change.

The DUP, he said, wanted to bring back unionist rule.

But Mr. Adams said: "Those days are gone. There will be no return to unionist domination. We are told that the DUP is now for power-sharing but last week in Castlereagh Council, a local council on the outskirts of east Belfast, efforts by several of the smaller parties to have power-sharing introduced were thwarted by the DUP. The DUP's deputy leader Peter Robinson led the opposition to the proposed change. Here was an opportunity for the DUP to show some generosity and imagination with no great risk to its dominance in the council. So what did the DUP do? They did what rejectionist unionism does best. The DUP said no."

Mr. Adams said there was "no question" about the DUP's intentions at this time.

"The real question is about how long the British Government will tolerate DUP game playing," he said.

He also said the governments should expand cross-border co-operation if the DUP "will not compromise."

In conclusion, Mr. Adams paid tribute to the role Irish America played in the peace process. 

"Ten years ago Irish America committed itself to working to end visa restrictions on Irish republicans; to helping to secure equal access to the Administration and political opinion; to encourage private and corporate investment, and aid from the government; and to persuade the Administration here to act as a guarantor of any agreement which might be achieved," he said.

The peace process was now entering a new and more intense phase, he said.

"Since I arrived yesterday I have met Republicans who are justifiably pleased and Democrats who are justifiably on a downer in the wake of your election. I know there are many issues of contention between you but there are Republicans and Democrats in this room. Why?" he asked.

"Because despite your political differences you care about Ireland. You my friends - Irish America - is what the democrats and the republicans have in common on Ireland. So as an outsider as I extend congratulations to George Bush and commiserations to John Kerry I call upon you all to redouble you're your efforts in the time ahead."

He called for a reinvigorated, renewed focus on peace in Ireland. 

That meant Irish America working "as never before" for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. 

"That means Irish America strategically engaging with the White House and Capitol Hill in support of Irish unity and independence and changing British policy."

"There are a wide range of Irish organizations and solidarity groups in the U.S. - come together, discuss, argue if you must, but agree a plan of campaign that will ensure that as Sinn Féin grows in political strength in Ireland that here in the United States there is a growth in the popular demand for Irish unity and independence."

"We have now seen what is possible. Any of you who have visited the north in recent years will have seen the transformation. The reality is that across the island of Ireland life is better for the vast majority of our people. There are hundreds of people, thousands of people, who are alive today who might otherwise be dead and many more who would have been injured. That progress cannot be squandered," he said.

"Peace is possible, real and lasting and permanent - and a united, independent Ireland is ours if we want it badly enough, if we win support for that objective and if we are prepared to work hard to achieve it. So my friends stay with us in this great endeavor," Adams concluded.

UNIONISTS ACCUSED OF MISSING POWER-SHARING OPPORTUNITY 
11/07/04 13:05 EST

The Democratic Unionist Party have failed to grasp a unique opportunity to kick-start Northern Ireland's devolved powers, it was claimed today.

Mr. Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin chief negotiator, said it was a shame the DUP refused to engage directly with his party and commit to sharing power.

"The DUP in the course of these last couple of weeks clearly have shown that the major difficulty within this process resides within themselves and the IRA are not the problem," Mr. McGuinness said.

The Sinn Féin MLA said unionists should have grabbed the chance to return to Stormont after the IRA put forward a "superb offer" in order to restart power sharing in Belfast.

"It has now become clear that the Democratic Unionist Party even in the face of what everybody concedes, and the Governments concede, is an unprecedented and historic offer from the IRA leadership that the DUP are not prepared to do the business," he said.

"I don't have any illusions whatsoever that the Governments doubt that it was a very good offer and a very important offer and one which the DUP should have seized on."

"The Governments, both British and Irish have clearly indicated in the course of the last number of weeks that they believe that Republicans are up for a historic and unprecedented contribution to breaking the logjam."

Mr. McGuinness told RTE radio it was a shame the DUP failed to respect the views of republican voters.

"We don't have any problem whatsoever in engaging with the elected representatives of the unionist people, the difficulty resides on the DUP side," he said.

"If the DUP could bring themselves to recognizing the importance of respecting the Sinn Féin mandate then I think we could do the business much more quickly." Mr. McGuinness said there were no illusions about where the process was heading.

"It's matter of when, not if we are going to see an agreement," he said.

The Sinn Féin MLA also said the Governments had to take responsibility for driving the process forward until the DUP came on board.

AHERN PLEADS WITH DUP TO MAKE DEAL 
11/08/04 10:44 EST

Irish premier Bertie Ahern today gave his strongest indication yet that the IRA may be on track to decommission its weapons by the end of the year.

He said it would be an "enormous tragedy" if a breakthrough in the peace process was not made within the next two weeks and urged all parties to make a concerted effort to reach agreement.

"We are so near," he said. "But I fear some think there is some tactical advantage to be gained by long-fingering this. But they are wrong, really wrong, and should reflect very closely on where we have moved and what's on offer," he said.

Mr. Ahern called on all parties to think about whether it was really a good tactical move to leave the entire process on the back-burner until 2006. "What is it in 2006 that will make it easier?" he asked.

He said a report this morning claiming that behind-the-scenes talks with the two Governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin included the prospect of IRA decommissioning by the end of the year should not be discounted. "It is very near the mark."

The Taoiseach said people would be amused if they knew the issues currently preventing progress.

"We are within a fortnight of making a decision," he added. "So we can crack the outstanding points and do it comprehensibly and successfully or decide, having almost got there for the third time in a two-year period, to leave it aside."

He said that if negotiations were allowed to drift now, elections scheduled for next year in both Britain and Northern Ireland would push the whole process back to 2006.

"That would be a real tragedy - a real mistake," he added.

In a radio interview yesterday, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said the DUP had shown it was the major obstacle to restoring devolved government at Stormont.

The Mid Ulster MP said: "It has now become clear that the Democratic Unionist Party, even in the face of what everybody concedes, and the governments concede, is an unprecedented and historic offer from the IRA leadership, that the DUP are not prepared to do the business. I don`t have any illusions whatsoever that the governments doubt that it was a very good offer and a very important offer and one which the DUP should have seized on."

"The governments, both British and Irish, have clearly indicated in the course of the last number of weeks that they believe that republicans are up for a historic and unprecedented contribution to breaking the logjam."

At the end of the Leeds Castle talks in Kent in September, British Prime Minister Tony Blair believed the IRA was prepared to resolve the issues of decommissioning and the ending of all paramilitary activity.

It has been claimed that the completion of IRA disarmament by the end of this year was on the negotiating table.

British and Irish officials have been working on proposals to break the logjam and keep an IRA offer alive.

They are expected to put them to the parties at the end of the month, possibly November 26.

Sinn Féin leaders have urged the two governments, however, to consider dissolving the Assembly and rekindle and develop cross-border institutions if the DUP will not sign up to a deal.

Alex Attwood said today that Mr. McGuinness`s comments on RTE Radio proved republicans were only willing to move for the DUP and not for supporters of the Good Friday Agreement who had been demanding such moves in recent years.

"The weekend comments of Martin McGuinness are `deeply disturbing proof` that the IRA will go further for the DUP than for the people of Ireland," the West Belfast SDLP Assembly member said.

"Martin McGuinness says the IRA made a `superb offer` to the anti-agreement DUP to restart power-sharing. Yet the same IRA made no such `superb offer` in the years after the Good Friday Agreement to build confidence in pro-Agreement unionism or in response to the clear wishes of nationalist Ireland. The brazen nature of Martin McGuinness` comments is revealing of the IRA`s real attitude to the overwhelming number of Irish people."

"For over 20 years the IRA displayed contempt for Irish democracy. Ten years after the first IRA ceasefire, how far the IRA are prepared to go is defined, not by the Agreement, or Irish nationalism or even Irish democracy but by the DUP," Attwood said.

DUP FEARS EMBARRASSMENT SAYS McGUINNESS 
11/09/04 14:09 EST

Democratic Unionist leader the Rev Ian Paisley is worried that the Irish and British governments may come up with proposals for reviving power sharing at Stormont which will embarrass him, it was claimed tonight.

Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Mr. Martin McGuinness said after talks with British Government officials in London that it was clear the DUP was blocking political progress towards reviving the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The comment came as Mr. Paisley accused Irish premier Bertie Ahern of acting in bad faith in recent remarks about the deadlock in the peace process. 

Mr. Paisley said tonight: "It is outrageous that Bertie Ahern is now in the business of lecturing unionists to admit Sinn Féin/IRA into the government of Northern Ireland at a time when its own party refuses to countenance Sinn Féin in power in the Republic. Mr. Ahern would be better spending his time ensuring that Sinn Féin/IRA decommission all of its weapons in a way that satisfies everyone and brings to an end all of its activities."

"His comments indicate bad faith to the democratic community in circumstances where the Independent Monitoring Commission has indicated that the IRA is still engaged in all of the activities that both Mr. Ahern and Mr. Blair believed were at an end in October of last year."

"It is time the Irish Government faced up to its responsibilities and stood shoulder to shoulder with those who are demanding an end to terrorist and criminal activity."

The DUP has been pressing for changes to the way the First and Deputy First Ministers are elected in the Assembly.

This has been opposed by Sinn Féin and the SDLP who have also accused the Mr. Paisley's party of trying to secure a veto over the work of other devolved ministers.

Nationalists have attacked the DUP's approach to cross Border co-operation with Government ministers, accusing them of trying to dilute it and limit their scope of it. 

Mr. McGuinness tonight said it was clear the DUP was feeling the pressure from others in the process, including Mr. Ahern who yesterday said a deal was tantalizingly close and that it would be an enormous tragedy if it was allowed to slip away.

JESSE JACKSON URGES NORTH'S PARTIES TO MAKE DEAL 
11/11/04 14:16 EST

American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson has urged Northern Ireland politicians to "seal the deal" over power-sharing.

Mr. Jackson is visiting east and west Belfast today, before speaking at an awards ceremony in the city.

He said: "The Democratic Unionists and Sinn Féin are close. This moment, I would hope, would be seized."

Mr. Jackson also urged people in the North to "give peace a chance."

Mr. Jackson said today: "I think that the unionists and Sinn Féin should now seal the deal. Once you seal the deal and establish some bonds of trust, expand upon the remaining objectives of a given movement."

He said Ireland had seen great growth in the last two decades, and the last 10 years in particular.

Mr. Jackson urged both communities to take a "leap of faith" so as not to miss current opportunities. "This moment should not be missed," he said.

"You have to give peace a chance, because war and violence are unacceptable, they simply drive you further apart. Peace is risky, war is more risky."

During his visit to Belfast, Mr. Jackson is visiting Menscoil Feirste, the Irish language college at Beechmount House off the Falls Road, and then meeting community leaders in east Belfast.

He is also visiting Beechmount Leisure Centre in west Belfast to view the Remembering Quilts created by the group, Relatives for Justice.

Mr. Jackson will later be the guest of honor at the annual Aisling Awards, which recognize excellence in education, business, community development and the arts.

This year's awards are focussing on the ethnic communities of Belfast, and a Roll of Honor Award will go to Filipino nurses in Belfast. 

GOVERNMENTS GIVE PROPOSALS TO PARTIES 
11/17/04 09:54 EST

Crucial talks on the deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process are under way in Dublin and London. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is hosting the DUP leader Ian Paisley in Downing Street, while Irish premier Bertie Ahern is meeting a Sinn Féin delegation in Government Buildings.

Both parties will be presented with the governments` proposals for moving forward.

Speaking on his way into the talks, the Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams accused the media of engaging in `irresponsible journalism`, over reports that senior clergy are to be allowed to witness acts of decommissioning.

The BBC reported yesterday that a Protestant and a Catholic churchman could be used to witness the IRA "putting weapons beyond use."

The offer is being perceived as a significant move by republicans, but is not thought to be enough for the DUP.

Although there has been no official party comment, the DUP is still believed to be pressing for photographic proof.

However, it would only happen in the event of a comprehensive deal being reached on a new devolved government at Stormont.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble urged Tony Blair to "get a grip" in Northern Ireland and "end the drift that someone somewhere clearly wants to prolong" in the peace process.

Mr. Blair said: "I hope that the talks we are having today will be productive. We are, and at a slightly greater length than I anticipated, trying to resolve the outstanding issues."

He said that if paramilitary violence was "ended once and for all in all its forms from anyone who wants to sit in the government of Northern Ireland," there was "no reason why the unionist community should not sit in an executive" with parties including Sinn Féin.

Mr. Blair said he hoped that progress would soon be made to ensure that "on the republican side there is a complete end to violence and on the unionist side an acceptance that, if that is so, there should be power sharing."

After meeting Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern in Dublin on Wednesday, SDLP leader Mark Durkan said he still had serious concerns about the government's proposed changes to the Good Friday Agreement.

"The minister took us through proposals that the governments will be putting forward. They are obviously going to share those proposals with other parties, as well. We were taken through things in confidence and we don't want to breach that confidence."

He added: "We believe the DUP are getting too much and giving too little. We are a bit more reassured on some of the points of concern that we had at Leeds Castle and arising after Leeds Castle."

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent in September, Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

But, the two governments were unable to get the DUP to sign up to a deal over power-sharing after unionists and nationalists clashed over future devolved institutions.

The British and Irish proposals are likely to deal with the stumbling blocks concerning the independence of ministers in a future executive, the election of the first and deputy first ministers and the question of a target date for devolving policing and justice. 

BLAIR MEETING WAS POSITIVE SAYS ADAMS 
11/18/04 14:59 EST

Sinn Féin's meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss government proposals to break the political deadlock was positive, Gerry Adams has said.

The British and Irish Governments put their proposals to the DUP and Sinn Féin yesterday.

In a statement today, the DUP said the latest proposals contained areas of "confusing ambiguity and even apparent inconsistency."

DUP leader Ian Paisley said he wants Mr. Blair to confirm that the IRA has accepted those parts of the proposed agreement which affect its activities.

Speaking after leading a Sinn Féin delegation to meet Mr. Blair at Downing Street today, Mr. Adams said they hoped to agree a deal soon.

"We have been putting it to the two governments for some time that they need to come forward with propositions which are bedded in the Good Friday Agreement," he said.

"They have now come forward with propositions, and we are now seeking assurances that they are bedded in the Agreement - that shouldn't take very much longer."

Concerns are thought to include ministerial authority and the potential for north-south institutions to develop.

The document addresses the principle of transferring policing powers to the assembly, as well as the need for community confidence before this can take place.

One source said that it did not contain a target date for the devolution of policing and justice, which is a key Sinn Féin demand.

It is thought the paper proposes beefing up the British-Irish Council, which unlike the north-south council, lacks its own secretariat or headquarters.

Both the DUP and Sinn Féin leaderships will be briefing their party members about the latest proposals on Friday.

Mr. Paisley said he would be taking a few days to study the paper.

The DUP leader said: "We will also want to have clarification on a number of matters where there is a lack of detail or the use of imprecise text. We must not allow a lack of clarity to lead to misunderstanding and dispute at a later stage."

He added: "We will need the prime minister to confirm to us that in each and every respect the IRA has accepted the nature, extent and particulars of that part of the agreement which impacts on its activities and position."

Mr. Paisley said that his party would "engage positively" with the government over the coming days in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Meanwhile, Senator George Mitchell - who helped to broker the Good Friday Agreement - said he thought the parties had made good progress.

"The parties have reacted with innovation and good faith in trying to come up with mechanisms to create assurances in the absence of trust," he said in Belfast this afternoon.

"I hope very much that they reach it. They appear to be quite close, from the published reports that I've read." 

HOPES RISE OF BREAKTHROUGH IN NORTH 
11/19/04 13:50 EST

Northern Ireland's politicians were tonight preparing for another week of intense negotiations as hopes of a significant peace process breakthrough rose.

Sources close to the talks to revive power sharing at Stormont said progress was being made in bridging the gaps between the Reverend Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and Sinn Féin.

But they also insisted: "Everything is at a delicate stage right now. That's why the DUP and Sinn Féin are anxious to play everything publicly close to their chest. One wrong phrase and it could all go belly up."

After Mr. Paisley reported on British and Irish proposals to revive Stormont to the DUP Assembly team, party chairman Maurice Morrow said their MLAs believed the talks had advanced.

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA confirmed: "At a full meeting of the DUP Assembly Group this morning, there was a unanimous positive reaction to the report by the party leader on the negotiations."

After the meeting which lasted more than two hours, the 33 assembly members said in a statement: "Members recognize that significant progress has been made in the days and weeks since Leeds Castle and that there is still work required."

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams today also updated party colleagues on the state of the talks.

Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy urged the DUP to talk directly to his party about their concerns over the proposals in order to help the process.

"We have concerns around the faithful implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and we intend to put those to the governments," said Mr. Murphy.

Mr. Murphy said Sinn Féin hoped the issues could be resolved within days. 

It is understood the Democratic Unionists have been pressing for decommissioning to be more transparent, with possibly photographic or video evidence to increase confidence in the unionist community.

The party has also been focusing on the timescale for the rolling out of a deal.

Republicans have also been pressing for greater clarity, with the party anxious to ensure there is no watering down in the powers of devolved ministers and the cross border bodies.

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent in September, Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

But, the two governments were unable to get the DUP to sign up to a deal over power-sharing after unionists and nationalists clashed over future devolved institutions. 

IRA IS NOT THE PROBLEM SAYS McGUINNESS 
11/20/04 09:58 EST

The IRA is not the problem in the negotiations aimed at breaking the political stalemate, Sinn Féin chief negotiator has said.

Martin McGuinness said tensions within the Democratic Unionist Party were proving to be the problem.

Speaking today, he would not be drawn on the details of the IRA's contribution to the process.

The DUP and Sinn Féin are holding further meetings on the British-Irish proposals to break the political stalemate.

Mr. McGuinness said the British and Irish proposals were, broadly speaking, the government's best guess for a resolution.

And he said the challenge for the DUP leader Ian Paisley was to show confidence - and deliver his party before the election.

"There is considerable satisfaction, in my view, within the process, within the key negotiators in all of this that the IRA are not the problem at this particular time," he said.

"The problem at this particular time, is whether or not the Democratic Unionist Party are going to make up their minds as to whether or not they are going to do the business, and do the business now."

Another problem was whether the British and Irish Governments were "absolutely committed to the faithful implementation of an Agreement which after all is an international treaty," he said.

While the parties continue to consult and negotiate, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern warned time was running out.

The British and Irish Governments want an answer from Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams by the end of the month.

In Dundalk in County Louth, Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin is addressing the party's councillors today.

He said: "Of course, there are still issues that have to be effectively addressed and resolved. That is the focus of our ongoing discussions with the two governments. We believe that this can be done if the governments are genuinely committed to the Good Friday Agreement. And we see no reason why all of these matters cannot be sorted out by the end of next week."

The DUP assembly team are drawing up their own detailed analysis of the outstanding issues.

The DUP leader Ian Paisley and members of his talks team left Stormont this afternoon. The party's executive will meet next Friday night.

The DUP wants to know the IRA is committed to the proposals outlined by the government.

Sinn Féin is demanding the proposals reflect more fully the Good Friday Agreement.

On Friday, the DUP's assembly team said significant progress had been made since September's intensive talks.

The British and Irish Governments put their proposals to the DUP and Sinn Féin, the main unionist and nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, on Wednesday.

The plans followed two months of continuing negotiations aimed at exploring a way around the stumbling blocks faced at September's talks at Leeds Castle in Kent.

As the leaderships of Sinn Féin and the DUP briefed assembly members on Friday, Sinn Féin urged the DUP to talk directly to them about the governments' proposals.

The DUP's assembly team was briefed at Stormont on Friday by party leader Ian Paisley about the state of the current negotiations to restore devolution.

After the meeting which lasted more than two hours, the 33 assembly members said in a statement: "Members recognize that significant progress has been made in the days and weeks since Leeds Castle and that there is still work required."

Both parties still have concerns, but there is cautious optimism that a resolution is possible.

After two years of stalemate, Stormont remains suspended, but signs are emerging that it could be back in business within months.

More meetings are expected in Downing Street in the next few days.

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent in September, Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

But, the two governments were unable to get the DUP to sign up to a deal over power-sharing after unionists and nationalists clashed over future devolved institutions.

DUP MEETINGS BILLED AS CRITICAL TO DEAL 
11/23/04 14:05 EST

The Rev Ian Paisley's meetings tomorrow with Irish premier Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were tonight being billed as critical to hopes for reviving power sharing at Stormont.

As Mr. Paisley's negotiating team prepared for separate meetings with the two leaders in London tomorrow, Sinn Féin sources said all sides were looking for a sign that the Democratic Unionists would be prepared to share power.

The source said: "The DUP really is the last piece of the jigsaw. Tomorrow could be an historic day. If the DUP were to come on board and signal they would be willing to share power, which is the desired outcome, it would be a very significant prize."

Mr. Paisley tonight said more progress was being made on a deal to resurrect devolution.

After what he described as a very intense meeting in London with Northern Ireland Secretary Mr. Paul Murphy on the future of the Royal Irish Regiment's home battalion, the North Antrim MP warned that if a deal could not be struck soon, it could be lost forever.

"If Northern Ireland is going to get a fair deal, and it has not got a fair deal so far, it'll get a fair deal now," he insisted.

"If we miss the opportunity, we'll never get this back again."

Last year, the DUP overtook Mr. David Trimble's Ulster Unionists as Northern Ireland's largest party and told republicans they would only share power with Sinn Féin if the IRA disarmed and ended all paramilitary activity.

British and Irish officials last week put proposals to the DUP and Sinn Féin aimed at delivering lasting power sharing.

Other parties like the UUP, SDLP and the Alliance Party have not been given full sight of the plan.

Sinn Féin and the DUP have raised a number of concerns about the proposals but are expected to give their definitive responses within days.

The DUP, in particular, has been pressing for more clarity on how the IRA could instill more unionist confidence in its disarmament process.

It has been proposed that Protestant and Catholic clergy could witness a decommissioning act but the DUP is believed to be keen on a visual aspect, with either photographic or video evidence.

SDLP leader Mr. Mark Durkan has been critical of the package, claiming it is stacked too much in favor of the DUP.

Mr. Durkan, in particular, has raised concerns at proposals to replace the system of jointly electing a first and deputy first minister at Stormont with a vote for the entire executive.

Speculation has also been mounting that the British government is considering asking Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to approve a GBP £1billion package to help Stormont ministers tackle infrastructural problems in Northern Ireland if power sharing is resumed.

Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin and Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew met Mr. Murphy in London about the proposal.

As they prepared for the discussion, Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said he believed a peace dividend was a good idea.

"We have consistently in Sinn Féin raised the need for a peace dividend that would enable us all to tackle inequality," the Mid Ulster MP said.

"We would have some considerable hope that that could be achieved if a deal is struck in the overall negotiations. How much would that be? It is too early to say."

Republicans have argued that money saved from the scaling down of police and Army fortifications in Northern Ireland should be ploughed back into the budget of the Northern Ireland Executive to help ministers during devolution to tackle disadvantage.

There have been concerns that without a peace dividend, Stormont ministers could be forced to rely upon raising household rates bills and water charges to support expenditure.

They believe this would get any new power sharing executive off on the wrong foot in terms of public satisfaction.

PARTIES IN LONDON FOR FINAL PUSH FOR DEAL 
11/24/04 04:03 EST

The Irish premier Bertie Ahern and the British Prime Minister Tony will today meet unionists and nationalists in London on what has been billed as the most critical talks in the current negotiations to revive power sharing in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Ahern and Mr. Blair will meet after holding a series of meetings with the Reverend Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists, Sinn Féin, the nationalist SDLP and the Ulster Unionists.

Hopes that a deal can be struck between the DUP and Sinn Féin rose last night after the Mr. Paisley said progress was being made.

He said that after a "very intense" meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Mr. Paul Murphy in London: "If Northern Ireland is going to get a fair deal, and it has not got a fair deal so far, it'll get a fair deal now. If we miss the opportunity we'll never get this back again." 

But DUP and Sinn Féin sources were still cautious about the prospects of a political breakthrough, insisting today's round of meetings in London would give a clear signal as to whether a deal was possible or not.

Mr. Ahern will meet the DUP's negotiating team at the Irish Embassy in London. Talks have also been planned at the embassy with Sinn Féin's negotiating team of Mr. Gerry Adams, Mr. Martin McGuinness, Mr. Mitchel McLaughlin and Ms Michelle Gildernew and with Mr. Mark Durkan's SDLP.

The parties are also due in Downing Street for meetings with Mr. Blair. A delegation from the UUP will also travel to No 10 in a bid to find out more about the package of proposals both governments have put only to Sinn Féin and the DUP.

British and Irish officials hope their formula for reviving the Stormont Assembly will succeed.

The DUP executive is due to gather on Friday evening in Belfast to consider the party's electoral strategy and the proposal.

Sinn Féin sources confirmed their leadership was also planning a meeting of their national executive to review the proposals and the state of the negotiations.

A Sinn Féin source said: "The DUP's response at today's meetings in London could be critical. We could get a real sense today if this is going to float." 

A DUP source said progress was being made. "There has been a narrowing of the gaps but at this stage I would still be a little cautious about making any predictions," he said.

PARTIES SEEK FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON PROPOSALS 
11/24/04 12:44 EST

The Irish-British proposals to restore the power sharing assembly are the best the two governments can do and the Northern Irish political parties have just days to decide whether to accept them, Irish premier Bertie Ahern said after a morning of negotiations.

Following lengthy talks in Downing Street with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr. Ahern told journalists: "Two years on from the institutions collapsing, a year on from the election, three gallant efforts by everybody to reach a conclusion, you have to call it, and we have to call it within a matter of days."

Mr. Ahern said the governments had received from Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) comprehensive lists of points on which they wanted clarification.

The two governments would seek to provide that clarification over the next couple of days. The governments would then expect a prompt response to the proposals from both sides, he said.

Devolved government could be back in Northern Ireland by next spring if a deal involving Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists is struck within days, sources close to the talks said.

DUP sources said the British and Irish Governments would try to roll out a deal to get power sharing back by next March.

However they added a lot would depend on whether the IRA was prepared to become an "old boys association" as DUP leader, the Reverend Ian Paisley, suggested.

A party source said: "The talks at this stage are inching forward but I am not in a position where I can say that a deal will definitely happen. I think we are all coming to the point where the parties will soon have to make a judgment about what's on offer but right now the ball is in the court of the two governments."

If the parties refuse to sign up, both the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister are ready to publish the proposals.

Both leaders held a series of meetings with the DUP and Sinn Féin negotiating teams in London this morning looking for a response to Irish-British proposals submitted to the parties last week.

The Taoiseach also met DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley who had strongly suggested that the latest deadline of tomorrow for progress would not be met.

"I don't want to put in to the minds of people that we have gone from A to Z. We have not. But there has been progress," Rev Paisley added.

After meeting with Mr. Ahern, Rev Paisley said straight talking had taken place and he suggested that the IRA should become an "old boys' association."

Rev Paisley said he was also awaiting a paragraph by paragraph response to the points he had raised from Mr. Blair.

Mr. Ahern described the meetings with the political parties as useful but added that there remained work to be done. 

With no clear timeline for an agreement in sight Mr. Ahern backed away from tomorrow's deadline and reiterated that time was short.

Speaking after their meeting with Mr. Ahern, the Sinn Féin leadership said they were still hopeful of a resolution.

Party chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said: "I have always argued that if you take the long view, then you can see that clearly we are making progress towards the achievement of a durable peace. We are a long way from never, never, never."

The party is going to consult its executive on Thursday. Meetings with officials are to continue throughout the next few days. 

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said the difficulties did not appear to be that great and, that if the parties wanted, they could be resolved.

The question was if the parties had the will to resolve the issues, he said.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said: "There has been progress on some issues, and we are pushing for more progress. We are determined to be the bulwark of the Good Friday Agreement."

GOVERNMENTS' FINAL CLARIFICATION DUE BY WEEKEND 
11/25/04 20:12 EST

The final draft of the Irish and British governments' proposals on re-instituting powersharing in Northern Ireland is expected to be agreed by the main parties either tonight or tomorrow. 

Officials from both governments worked long into the night finalizing texts and the final draft is now being considered by the Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sinn Féin president Mr. Gerry Adams briefed the party's ard comhairle (governing Executive) in Dublin this morning following lengthy discussions with officials from both governments last night.

He said the party stressed to the officials that a "comprehensive agreement" must be achieved in the new proposals and that the governments must press ahead with implementation of powersharing regardless of whether the Democratic Unionist Party agrees.

Mr. Adams said: "The two big issues [are] the DUP have yet to commit themselves to working with Sinn Féin and working the powersharing institutions thus far ... and secondly, we don't actually have the final draft of the governments' proposals."

DUP leader Rev Ian Paisley yesterday gave the governments a six-page document seeking clarification on 40 points contained in the draft proposals presented to the parties last Wednesday.

DUP sources last night said that a commitment to complete IRA disarmament with a transparent process for decommissioning and the ending of all paramilitary activity is needed before they can agree a deal.

While it is believed that Catholic and Protestant clergy could witness a future disarmament move, the DUP may insist on visible proof, as a photograph, to be included so that unionists could have 'more confidence' in the process.

Mr. Adams today said he had "sense" of the points of clarification the DUP were seeking but that he could not say precisely what they were.

And he insisted the governments' proposals must be "bedded" in, and reflect, the terms of the Belfast Agreement. Only then would Sinn Féin consider the DUP's position, he added.

Mr. Adams said that he would be very disappointed and could not tolerate a situation if the DUP delayed reaching a deal until after the British general election.

He said: "I listened to what Mr. Paisley is saying and I'm positive. He's 78. It's a long time to wait. When I was a wee lad, Mr. Paisley started a career and it was all about saying no. And I appreciate that it's difficult to change the habits of a lifetime."

If a deal is struck, it is believed devolution could be restored by next March, with all sides engaging in confidence-building moves in the interim.

The DUP executive meets in Belfast tomorrow evening although it is unlikely it will give a formal response to the proposals afterwards.

A decision by both parties is overdue but Mr. Ahern and Mr. Blair agreed at last night's meeting to give them a little more time to decide on their position. 

"We don't see this running on for more than a matter of days," Mr. Ahern said after meeting Mr. Blair yesterday in Downing Street.

PRESIDENT BUSH URGES PAISLEY TO STRIKE DEAL 
11/26/04 09:27 EST

US President George W Bush today urged the Reverend Ian Paisley to play his part to restore powersharing to Northern Ireland.

Mr. Bush contacted the DUP leader by telephone and is expected to call Sinn Féin President Mr. Gerry Adams to help secure a breakthrough in the current impasse.

Mr. Paisley said he had a "long and very useful conversation" with Mr. Bush.

He said: "I told him I'd like to be in a position to make a deal, but that any deal must be fair and must address to my satisfaction and my electorate's satisfaction all the fundamental issues that have blocked progress for so long."

Mr. Bush's intervention comes as Irish and British governments are due to deliver a response later today to a list of queries submitted by the DUP and Sinn Féin over the proposals to restoring devolution in Northern Ireland.

More details have emerged on British-Irish proposals to deal with the DUP demand for visible decommissioning.

Talks sources suggest that by the end of December, General de Chastelain could report that all IRA weapons have been "put beyond use."

Decommissioning pictures would be held until March Photographic proof of this would be held by the head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning until March.

There would then be a new power-sharing executive.

The two governments have said they are ready to publish their proposals if the parties do not sign up to a deal.

The DUP's executive meets this evening, while Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has met Tony Blair for further talks at Downing Street.

Speaking at a news conference in Belfast this afternoon, Mr. Adams said he had not yet studied the governments' response.

"There is still some work to be done," he said.

An "historic deal" was possible, but it needed political will, he said.

"That is a huge challenge for all of us, but particularly a huge challenge for the DUP."

However, he added: "We haven't gone to the IRA - why haven't we gone to the IRA? - we haven't gone to the IRA because we don't have a comprehensive package. As far as we are concerned, all of these issues will be issues for that organization to decide. As far as us as a political party are concerned, the arms issue should be dealt with under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which means the de Chastelain commission."

Sinn Féin sources say Gerry Adams is expecting to take a call from President Bush later today.

Insiders have said that the proposals from the two governments are very clear: if a deal is done, then, by the end of this year General de Chastelain would report that all IRA weapons have been put beyond use.

This would open the door to a shadow assembly at the start of January.

Two churchmen - agreed by the DUP and republicans - would witness the acts of decommissioning.

Sources say that under the governments' proposals, photographs would be taken, but would not be published immediately.

A Sinn Féin spokesman said that republicans were not the sources of these reports and were unhappy about them.

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said his party would not go into government with republicans unless 'transparent' decommissioning had taken place.

Mr. Donaldson added that he was confident they would reach agreement on the issue.

"We are closer than we have ever been. We are hopeful that we can close the outstanding issues, but we're not there yet," he said.

"I have to say that on the issue of 'no guns, no government' ... we have made significant progress on that front and I believe that we can close the gap."

At the conclusion of intensive political talks at Leeds Castle in Kent in September, Blair and Ahern said the thorny issues of IRA disarmament and future paramilitary activity appeared to be resolved.

But, the two governments were unable to get the DUP to sign up to a deal over power-sharing after unionists and nationalists clashed over future devolved institutions. 

PARTIES CONSULT ON GOVERNMENTS' BLUEPRINT 
11/26/04 19:53 EST

Efforts to strike a comprehensive Northern Ireland political deal have intensified with the intervention of President George Bush.

But it will be Tuesday at the earliest before it is known if an agreement is possible that would see the return of the Northern Executive and Assembly.

The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, tonight briefed the party's 80 to 100-member ruling executive on the British and Irish governments' slightly modified blueprint for a solution, which was presented to Sinn Féin and the DUP this afternoon.

Dr Paisley said he would present the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, with the DUP response on Tuesday. The Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, also said his party's response would be delivered early next week, which means that at the earliest it will be mid-week before it is known whether a deal is achievable.

Dublin and London hope Mr. Bush's involvement at this critical stage of the negotiations could be positive. The US President telephoned Dr Paisley today and was also due to contact Mr. Adams.

The call was made at the behest of Mr. Bush's ally, Mr. Blair, it is understood. Mr. Bush diplomatically urged Dr Paisley to endorse the deal, it is believed.

Dr Paisley welcomed such high level contact but told reporters he had made no commitments to Mr. Bush. 

It was becoming clearer last night that the DUP demand for a visual element to decommissioning has the potential to be a deal-breaker.

The family of murdered human rights attorney Patrick Finucane's decision not to co-operate with an inquiry into his murder because of objections to British government restrictions on how the inquiry is conducted could also complicate and sour these efforts to achieve a comprehensive political deal.

"It is an issue that we will have to closely look at," said a senior Sinn Féin source.

The governments believe their amended proposals strike a 'fair' balance between the concerns and requirements of both Sinn Féin and the DUP. There are official anxieties, however, that the DUP requirement for visual proof of decommissioning could yet shatter the chances of a deal.

Dublin and London have placed such a requirement in their blueprint based on Dr Paisley's insistence that without visual proof most unionists would reject the proposals.

Sinn Féin has consistently refused to say whether republicans could tolerate this demand, stating that how IRA disarmament is achieved must be a matter for the IRA and General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body. 

But republican sources state that the photographic requirement was causing difficulty "emotionally, politically and personally" in republican heartlands.

Mr. Adams refused to be drawn about the photographic decommissioning issue. He said he would not go to the IRA about the blueprint until there was a comprehensive deal on the table.

"We have not gone to the IRA. We have no plans to go to the IRA. We will only take those decisions when we have a comprehensive package, and we will make a judgment on that," he added.

The Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, yesterday warned the parties against delaying their responses. "Playing it a bit too long does not mean you build on what you have. The cards could collapse. We have brought this an awful long way and I don't want to have to go back down the roadway," he said.

SINN FÉIN CONFIDENT DEAL WILL BE MADE 
11/28/04 09:16 EST

Sinn Féin chairman Mr. Mitchel McLaughlin has suggested the DUP and his party were "on the verge" of making a breakthrough.

Speaking on BBC Radio, he said: "This has been a successful peace process - perhaps one that didn't develop as quickly as people on the ground would have hoped, but nonetheless it has been moving steadily in the right direction, despite all the hiccups and frustrations and disappointments."

"The final piece in bringing all-party dialogue about is this discourse between the DUP and Sinn Féin and I think we are on the verge of achieving that."

Mr. McLaughlin acknowledged that there were many unresolved issues on all sides of the community relating to the traumas of the past 30 years.

But he said: "All, I think, are now coming to the view that what we have to do is move into new space, create a new future. We have had enough of a history and a past of conflict and division. On that basis of equality, let's address the legacy issues and let's draw lessons from it to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Earlier the Sinn Féin president Mr. Gerry Adams said he believed the Reverend Ian Paisley would eventually strike a deal with his party despite the skepticism of nationalists.

But the West Belfast MP insisted any move on weapons was a matter for the IRA and General John de Chastelain to work out.

"The reality is under the Good Friday Agreement there is a commission," he said.

"That commission is responsible for verifying and overseeing the putting of arms beyond use or the decommissioning of arms. The IRA is the only organization - and this has caused huge difficulty for many republicans and nationalists - to have actually engaged with that international, independent decommissioning body. Why can't this be held up as the way forward? That is essentially part of the agreement."

Mr. Adams claimed the main sticking point in the current negotiations was the refusal so far of the DUP and the Rev Paisley to embrace concepts in the Good Friday Agreement. 

He added: "There is no question that Ian Paisley would do a deal but he wants a deal on his terms. He has to do a deal on terms that are acceptable to the rest of us. Another difficulty I find in my own constituency is that people are hugely skeptical that Ian Paisley will do a deal."

"Now I think he will do a deal but I think there is a responsibility on the British Government to press ahead with the Irish Government on all the outstanding aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. We in Sinn Féin have set ourselves two very clear objectives. One is to do a deal with the DUP and two is to ensure that it is bedded and the governments put their propositions firmly in the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement."

"If the DUP do not come on board, because it is too long to be waiting for what are essentially very modest entitlements, then the governments have to press ahead," he said.

PAISLEY WILL NOT BE BOUNCED INTO DEAL 11/28/04 16:12 EST

The Democratic Unionist Party will walk away from a deal to revive power sharing if it falls short of what unionists need, the Reverend Ian Paisley has warned his party.

As Northern Ireland's talks to revive power sharing remained delicately balanced, the DUP leader told colleagues at a dinner last night in North Antrim if the deal was to work it must include the transparent destruction of IRA weapons.

The North Antrim MP insisted: "I will not be bounced into any quick deal that is wrong. I am willing to consider urgently the right deal at the right time. I would like to be in a position to say yes but if it is not a fair deal, I will be rejecting it in your name (the DUP) and in the name of the people of Northern Ireland."

Sinn Féin and the DUP are the only parties to have seen proposals from the British and Irish governments for resurrecting the Assembly and IRA disarmament.

It is believed both parties will have until Tuesday to seal a deal, with British Prime Minister Mr. Blair and the Taoiseach Mr. Ahern considering publishing their blueprint in the event of no agreement.

ADAMS DESCRIBES HISTORIC ORDE MEETING AS USEFUL 
11/29/04 06:37 EST

The Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, has described this morning's meeting the PSNI Chief Constable, Mr. Hugh Orde, as 'useful.'

Mr. Adams said the Sinn Féin delegation discussed the issue of demilitarision with Mr. Orde. He described the meeting as 'hugely important' and said Sinn Féin would return to Downing Street for further discussions later this week.

When asked if a deal would be struck this week, Mr. Adams said that he always felt a deal was inevitable and it was now 'a matter of time' but that there were still some outstanding issues that needed to be resolved.

Mr. Adams, who spoke with President George Bush by phone on Saturday, said Sinn Féin wanted all these matters sorted out but said "good work was done today," and "let's continue the good work."

Leading his delegation into Downing Street this morning, Mr. Adams said the delegation was going to "to try and get a program of accelerated demilitarization."

When asked whether today's events meant that an overall deal was very close. Mr. Adams said: "Whether a deal is close or not depends on two points being satisfied. One is the DUP leader signing up to equality to all- Ireland structures, to working with the rest of us within the framework of the Good Friday Agreement."

The second point, he said, was that the two Governments ensured that everything that flowed from the recent spate of meetings was about implementing the Good Friday Agreement.

"We are here today to do business. If the Chief Constable and the British Prime Minister are here to do business, then yet another issue will be resolved," he said.

Following the talks, Mr. Adams said: "We had a meeting on the issue of demilitarization. The British prime minister had told us a number of things, that this was an operational matter for Hugh Orde and that's why we met in the format we did. And we did some other meetings around other issues. I think it was a useful meeting."

Mr. Orde said that the meeting had been "constructive."

He said: "We discussed security, normalization and policing. The fact that the meeting happened is very significant. It is the first time I have met Mr. Adams and it was an opportunity to explain about policing and how we have moved on."

He said the aim was to provide an "ordinary" police service to people "across the divide." 

The Rev Ian Paisley is meeting Gen. John de Chastelain to discuss IRA decommissioning amid positive signs on all sides that a deal to restore devolution to Stormont will soon be reached.

Hopes of a resolution mounted over the weekend with officials indicating a deal to end political deadlock and 25 months of direct rule in the North could be clinched as early as tomorrow.

The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said he would respond tomorrow to the British and Irish governments' slightly modified blueprint for a solution, which was presented to Sinn Féin and the DUP on Friday afternoon.

It was reported on Saturday that the governments believe their slightly amended proposals strike a fair balance between the concerns and requirements of both Sinn Féin and the DUP.

However, there are official anxieties that the DUP requirement for visual proof of decommissioning could yet shatter the chances of a deal.

NEGOTIATIONS ENTER CRITICAL PHASE IN NORTH 
11/29/04 13:43 EST

A Sinn Féin delegation, including the party's president, Mr. Gerry Adams, is to meet Irish premier Bertie Ahern in Dublin tomorrow as efforts to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland intensify.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader the Rev Ian Paisley is to meet the British Prime Minister Tony Blair tomorrow.

Earlier, Mr. Adams held an unprecedented meeting with PSNI chief constable, Mr. Hugh Orde, while Mr. Paisley met with General John de Chastelain of the Independent International Commission for Decommissioning (IICD).

Mr. Adams and Mr. Orde met for just over two hours as the republican leadership pushed for commitments by security chiefs that they will remove British army lookout posts and other military apparatus.

It is one of the key demands at the center of tense negotiations to try to hammer out an agreement which can get the power sharing executive and Assembly back up and running again in Belfast.

Mr. Adams' meeting with the Chief Constable was the first time Sinn Féin has had face-to-face talks with the head of the police service in Northern Ireland.

After the meeting, Mr. Adams emerged from Downing Street with a delegation which included Mr. McGuinness and Ms Gildernew, insisting his party wanted a comprehensive deal.

The Sinn Féin president said: "If there is a political will there, if we can get the DUP to agree in clear terms to power-sharing, to working this Agreement with the rest of us, treating people on the basis of equality, and if we can make sure that the package that emerges is bedded in the Agreement and about implementing the Agreement, then, of course, it isn't a matter in my view of if. We have always felt that a deal was inevitable if we keep pushing it and we are going to keep pushing it. It is a matter of when."

Sinn Féin was stretching and challenging its supporters in a bid to secure the deal, Mr. Adams said. However, he said others in the process needed to do that with their own constituencies too.

"It is a collective responsibility," he said. "It's a comprehensive, holistic agreement that is required and it's about putting the Good Friday Agreement in place. It`s about building from there onwards to where we want to go, which is towards a united Ireland. Others have a different view and they should have the right to put that view as well. There was good work done today. Let`s continue to do good work."

Mr. Paisley spent more than an hour in deep discussions with General de Chastelain on how further acts of IRA disarmament could be verified. Mr. Paisley said he was not going to be held to any deadline for a final agreement.

"Things are at a very delicate stage. It really rests on the British government to carry out the promises that Mr. Blair has made on decommissioning," he said.

"If the decommissioning problem can be solved then we are on our way, but it is not solved at the present time. There is no time line as far as I am concerned, I think it is nonsense," he said.

He will meet Mr. Blair in Downing Street tomorrow and said if everything was going well Mr. Blair would then have to talk to General de Chastelain who, in turn, would have to talk to the IRA to see whether they would accept or reject what was being decided, he said.

"There are a host of things that need to be settled - we have to wait and see what is going to happen."

He said some reports he had read in newspapers about what was happening were "nonsense."

The DUP wants photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning and independent scrutiny by observers.

The Rev Paisley said a particular person had been named as being acceptable to him as an observer, but he said: "I don't know the man."

The talks are at such a delicate stage that the British Prime Minister Tony Blair was reluctant to make any substantial comment at his monthly press conference for fear of scuppering a possible deal later this week.

"I think we are obviously at a very intensive stage now," he said. "I think the best thing for me is to say very little to you because we have been so many times before where hopes have been raised and then they have been dashed that I am almost fearful of raising them."

"It's obvious that people would like to get a deal done. Whether that is possible or not, the next few days will tell us but I don't think there is probably anything I can very sensibly say to you at the moment," Blair said.

REPUBLICANS MUST BE HUMILIATED, SAYS PAISLEY 
11/30/04 06:43 EST

The Sinn Féin President, Mr. Gerry Adams said today the republican movement was "highly offended" by the Rev Ian Paisley's assertion that republicans must be "humiliated" and that they must wear "sackcloth and ashes."

Speaking before a meeting with Irish premier Bertie Ahern in Government Buildings today, Mr. Adams made his dissatisfaction clear to reporters but said that both sides needed to be moderate in their comments.

He said Sinn Féin had entered the negotiations "with a view to getting the DUP over the line" and to get "a comprehensive agreement" and that comments such as those from Dr Paisley made it more difficult to marshal the republican community.

Mr. Adams said: "We're not about the politics of humiliation, we're about the politics of liberation. We just have to be temperate in our language. But let's not be diverted by any of these comments."

He said that he would have to voice his concerns to Mr. Ahern.

The Sinn Féin delegation, which included chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, said the purpose of the meeting with Mr. Ahern was to "get in a row all the unresolved bits of this tremendous chore we have set ourselves."

Mr. McGuinness added: "As we move forward what we need is a little bit of humility and a good deal of generosity." 

The Democratic Unionist leader today repeated the comments he made at the Ballymena meeting that "the IRA needs to be humiliated. And they need to wear their sackcloth and ashes, not in a backroom but openly. And we have no apology to make for the stand we are taking," added Dr Paisley.

The speech was filmed by the BBC which broadcast his speech last night. Neither government commented on Dr Paisley's remarks

This afternoon Dr Paisley is meeting the British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, in London in a bid to resolve concerns about future IRA disarmament.

On his way into the meeting Dr Paisley repeated his 'sack cloth and ashes' comments but said the talks were moving in the right direction. 

"We are moving, I believe, in the right direction but there are some very important matters that still have to be dealt with and the most important matter is decommissioning. Until the people of Northern Ireland see that the arms of the IRA are put away ... we can't really look any further." 

Sinn Féin are expected to discuss the scaling-down of British military installations, policing, power-sharing and other issues at their meeting with Mr. Ahern.

The Taoiseach yesterday addressed republican concerns by calling on the British to speed up demilitarization. Talks took place yesterday between the Sinn Féin leadership and Northern Ireland 's most senior policeman, Chief Constable Hugh Orde, in Downing Street.

Both sides describe the meeting as useful but republicans were particularly anxious to ensure that the chief constable could approve a massive program of demilitarization in Northern Ireland in the event of a comprehensive peace process deal.

AHERN HOPING FOR RESOLUTION BY WEEKEND 
11/30/04 12:00 EST

Irish premier Bertie Ahern said tonight that he hoped agreement could be reached before Friday in Northern Ireland's power-sharing impasse, but denied it was a final deadline. 

Opposition leader Enda Kenny asked Mr. Ahern in the Dail (Irish Parliament) if Friday had been set by the British and Irish governments as the final date for agreement before talks were suspended.

Mr. Ahern replied: "The two governments would like to finish it tomorrow. I would like to think we would finish on Friday or Saturday."

However Mr. Ahern said the governments were "pleaded with" by the DUP not to give a definite deadline.

He told the Dail that he got feedback from DUP leader Dr Ian Paisley`s meeting today with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street and that he did not "read" Friday into it.

He added: "I don`t see us being able to complete it by Friday as of now."

Earlier, Mr. Ahern told the Dail that there still at least two potentially difficult issues that concerned him but he hoped that progress would be made on them in the next 48 or 72 hours.

But he added: "I don`t see a short-term solution unless people significantly move their position. I would not at this stage like to be overly positive or overly negative."

Earlier today, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams warned that political leaders in Northern Ireland need to moderate their language if they want to strike a deal to revive power sharing quickly.

As speculation mounted in Belfast that efforts to get Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists to sign up to a deal could extend into next week, Mr. Adams hit out at comments from Ian Paisley that the IRA would have to repent for its violence, wearing 'sackcloth and ashes'.

In a clear sign of how Mr. Paisley`s comments had soured the political atmosphere, the Sinn Féin president responded: "There has been a lot of anger expressed by not just republicans but indeed the broader nationalist community in relation to the comments. Republicans are not better than anybody else, but neither are we any worse. Republicans are decent people. For years we have had the politics of political humiliation. Attempts were made to humiliate our people in prisons, in interrogation centers, in our streets and in our homes. It is a policy that utterly failed."

"I would suggest that we all need to be temperate in our language. We all need to start treating people as we would have them treat us. We need a little more humility rather than humiliation."

Earlier Mr. Paisley met British Prime Minister Tony Blair, while Mr. Adams headed to Dublin for talks with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

The DUP leader emerged from Downing Street insisting that the issue of transparent IRA disarmament still had to be resolved.

"It`s now or never," Mr. Paisley told republicans.

"You must have done with your arms. You must put them away. "Everyone must be convinced that the completion is a real act."

However, the North Antrim MP went on to infuriate republicans with his comments about sackcloth and ashes.

"There is no excuse for what they did," the DUP leader said.

"Every day the security forces have to wear sackcloth and ashes, have pulled down their defenses. They have to do that - that is all right for the security forces. But as for us, we are immune to it - that is their attitude," he said.

Talks to revive the Northern Ireland Assembly have been delicately balanced in recent days, as the British and Irish Governments focus on securing a deal with Sinn Féin and the DUP.

It is understood that the DUP still has concerns about how future IRA decommissioning will be carried out.

The party has been pressing for a photograph to accompany any act of disarmament.

However, its negotiators have also been addressing the presentational side of any decommissioning act.

Sinn Féin have been concentrating on a number of issues, including the dismantling of British Army bases in republican areas.

If republicans are to undertake significant moves on the IRA`s future, disarmament and policing, it is believed they will require the British government to implement its demilitarization plans quickly.

At a groundbreaking meeting in Downing Street yesterday with the Police Service of Northern Ireland`s Chief Constable Hugh Orde, Sinn Féin pressed for a massive program to scale down security.

The talks source said: "With Sinn Féin and the IRA facing what are massive steps for them, their negotiators are arguing for the front-loading of demilitarization in the rolling out of a deal. The argument they are making is that their supporters will need to see quickly the benefits of any move they make, and the best way to do that is by dismantling watchtowers and security bases and withdrawing the troops."

Mr. Adams will travel to Downing Street tomorrow for more talks with the British government.

DUP leader Mr. Paisley is expected to head to London for a meeting with the government on Friday.

After talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street, nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Mark Durkan said the government would have to face up to responsibilities on demilitarization, the Pat Finucane Inquiry and the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont.

The Foyle Assembly member said: "First, on normalization, we believe that it must be speeded up, and we are convinced from our meeting with the Chief Constable last week that it can be. There is no reason why we cannot make rapid progress, for example, on Girdwood Barracks, the towers in South Armagh and the intrusive installations in Derry."

"Second, the British government has to get honest and open on the devolution of justice. That means publishing the Chilcott report and ensuring that intelligence gathering remains with the Police Service of Northern Ireland under the scrutiny of the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman."

"Third, as we have said at every meeting with Tony Blair, the British government needs to get honest over the Finucane case. Their new legislation on inquiries is in breach of the commitments given at Weston Park, and it violates what Judge Cory has recommended," Durkan said.

DUP DEMANDS UNACCEPTABLE, SAYS ADAMS 
12/01/04 13:25 EST

Demands being made by the Democratic Unionist Party in talks aimed at restoring power sharing are still unacceptable, Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams said tonight.

Adams told party activists in Navan, Co Meath that the DUP would have to change its mindset on power sharing if there was to be a shared future for unionists and republicans.

Adams said it was a "defining point in the peace process" adding: "In every negotiation there is a time when you have to call it. For Ian Paisley that time is now."

He called on the two governments to press ahead with the implementation of the Belfast Agreement if the DUP fails to strike a deal in the coming days.

"Under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, parties have to vote for the nominees for the joint Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers," he said.

"At this point in the negotiations one of the most important issues to be resolved is the DUP's refusal to do this. This unwillingness to share power with Sinn Féin, to accept Sinn Féin's democratic mandate, and to respect the rights and entitlements of our electorate is a block on efforts to move forward. The DUP demands are not acceptable to Sinn Féin. They should not be acceptable to the two governments."

The Rev Ian Paisley's party has been pressing for changes to the way first and deputy first ministers are elected in the Assembly.

Republicans also have concerns about the party's willingness to treat both positions equally as the Belfast Agreement envisaged.

If power sharing is restored, the DUP, as the largest Northern Ireland Assembly party, will be entitled to nominate either Mr. Paisley or his deputy Peter Robinson to the post of First Minister.

Sinn Féin's Mr. Martin McGuinness is expected to be his party's nominee for Deputy First Minister. At a meeting which selected Mr. Joe Reilly as Sinn Féin's Dail by-election candidate in Co Meath, Mr. Adams tonight also criticized Mr. Paisley's comments that in the event of a deal the IRA would have to repent of past crimes.

"The DUP leader, Ian Paisley, also needs to face up to his responsibilities to join in the collective challenge of peace making," he said.

"His refusal to talk to Sinn Féin makes this very difficult. His recent remarks compound these difficulties. They also explain his refusal to embrace the power sharing, all-Ireland and equality fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement. A DUP demand for the humiliation of republicans is not only unacceptable, it will not happen and it has no place in a process of peace making. The days of humiliation, of second-class citizens and of inequality are over and gone forever. If the DUP want to be part of a new and shared future, they will have to replace the mindset of humiliation with a new psychology of accommodation and generosity."

With the DUP demanding photographic evidence in any future IRA disarmament act, Mr. Adams acknowledged that unionist leaders had raised concerns about the IRA's weapons. He repeated his claim after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the issue could be resolved.

"Sinn Féin believes that this matter can be dealt with to the satisfaction of all reasonable people in the context of a comprehensive agreement and under the remit of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning," he said.

ADAMS URGES PAISLEY TO ACCEPT PROPOSALS 
12/02/04 11:46 EST

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has urged Ian Paisley to accept the proposals which could restore devolution in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Adams said both governments were very clear about Sinn Féin's position.

But he said if the DUP leader believed it was "now or never" for a deal he should say yes to the latest British and Irish proposals.

"Sinn Féin remains focused on achieving a deal. The work has been done. It is now time for Ian Paisley to decide."

There have been intensive negotiations between the two governments and the political parties over the past few weeks.

They have centered on the responses from Sinn Féin and the DUP to the proposals put forward by the British and Irish Governments aimed at restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

Speaking today, a day after Mr. Adams met Tony Blair in Downing Street, he again declined to comment on the details of decommissioning and photographic evidence which has been demanded by the DUP.

He claimed this was a matter for General de Chastelain's arms commission.

Mr. Paisley met the prime minister on Tuesday to discuss his party's response to the proposals.

The current negotiations are being conducted through a series of British and Irish Government intermediaries because the DUP refuses to hold face-to-face talks with Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin President Mr. Gerry Adams has called on the Irish and British governments to proceed without the DUP if it was not prepared to sign up to the proposed deal.

He said a deal on restoration of devolution was still possible but added that an accommodation could not be built through a process of humiliation.

Speaking at a Sinn Féin function in Navan last night, Mr. Adams said the time for negotiation was over.

"Sinn Féin believes that this matter can be dealt with to the satisfaction of all reasonable people in the context of a comprehensive agreement and under the remit of the IICD [Independent International Commission on Decommissioning]."

Mr. Adams delivered a sharp message to Mr. Blair and the Taoiseach, insisting they must ensure their text was in line with their stated criteria and "the Good Friday Agreement."

He said any deal must be "bedded in and capable of delivering" the Belfast Agreement.

The talks must now be concluded, he insisted. "If the DUP refuses to engage properly, then the two governments must move ahead without them."

Mr. Adams added that Dr Paisley's suggestion that republicans wear "sackcloth and ashes" had compounded difficulties within the republican constituency. "An accommodation of equals cannot be built through a process of humiliation," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionist Leader, David Trimble MP, has called for the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning to publish full details of the acts of decommissioning that have taken place.

Speaking in the House of Commons during Northern Ireland Questions, the Ulster Unionist leader asked NIO Security Minister, Ian Pearson MP, if he would: "Urge the General to publish details of what has happened and what may happen, without worrying too much about the views of the paramilitaries concerned?"

Pearson, however, declined, stating: "The scheme and the regulations allow for confidentiality at the request of participants."

It was reported this morning that the British Prime Minister is likely to appeal to the Rev Ian Paisley to soften his demand for photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning as Tuesday's potential date for a deal is now almost certain to slip back to Wednesday - at the earliest.

PREMIERS GIVE PARTIES 4 DAYS TO CONCLUDE DEAL 
12/03/04 15:35 EST

The Irish premier and the British Prime Minister have given the peace process four days to reach a breakthrough. 

Bertie Ahern, speaking at a celebration to mark his 10th anniversary as leader of Fianna Fail, said ongoing negotiations had been an "exhaustive effort" but that the work was now done and decisions had to be made by the parties involved. 

"Tony Blair and myself have to call it, to be precise, in four days," he said. 

Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, and DUP leader the Reverend Ian Paisley have been engaged in intense talks in recent days as the bid to restore power-sharing institutions in the North moved towards an historic breakthrough. 

Earlier tonight, Mr. Paisley said he was prepared to do a deal with republicans provided they "cease to be terrorists." Mr. Paisley, speaking after a meeting with Chief Constable Hugh Orde at police headquarters, said the onus was not on his party to decide whether to accept the latest plans from the two governments to restore devolution. 

He is under pressure to make a definitive response when he meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Downing Street on Monday. 

But he said it was up to Sinn Féin to decide whether they would accept the proposals put forward by the two governments. 

"This is not negotiations with Sinn Féin. It's an ultimatum to Sinn Féin. Are you going to continue to be terrorists or are you going to quit your terrorist path," he said. 

Earlier this week, Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, complained bitterly when the DUP leader said the IRA would have to wear "sack cloth and ashes" to atone for a 30-year paramilitary campaign by the IRA. 

Mr. Paisley said: "I will have to do a good deal of swallowing. I will have to do a good deal of biting my lip in future days. But I'm prepared to do that provided they cease to be terrorists." 

Sinn Féin vice president Mr. Pat Doherty said the process of negotiation could not last forever. The West Tyrone MP said: "Despite our obvious skepticism about the DUP's approach, and particularly our skepticism about their willingness to buy into the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin approached all of these discussions positively. We have spent months in detailed and thorough-going discussions with the two governments across all of the issues. I think we have all been patient over the past months. But this phase of discussions cannot be drawn out interminably." 

"A comprehensive deal is possible. But it can only be done on the basis of the Good Friday Agreement. The DUP must move away from the failed approaches of the past. The days of second-class citizenship, domination and humiliation are over. The British Prime Minister has a particular responsibility to impress this on the DUP leader," Doherty said. 

PAISLEY MEETS WITH DECOMMISSIONING CHAIRMAN 
12/04/04 16:10 EST

Democratic Unionist leader the Reverend Ian Paisley today held crucial talks with the head of Northern Ireland's independent disarmament body as the pressure mounted on his party to endorse a new peace process deal. 

The DUP leader arranged a meeting with General John de Chastelain in a bid to press home his party's demand for more transparent weapons decommissioning from the IRA. 

It is the second time both of them have met this week and it follows hard on a warning from the Irish premier Bertie Ahern last night that both Governments have set a four-day deadline for agreement. 

But emerging from today's talks Mr. Paisley said: "It is amazing that the Prime Minister is in the business of setting deadlines for the incoming week when this most important matter has not been discussed with those whom we expect to decommission their illegal arsenal." He said: "We are not going to be bluffed or buy a pig in a poke on a matter which affects the lives of the future and present generation of Ulster people." 

Mr. Paisley claimed the Republican Movement was holding up progress in the search for a new peace process deal. 

After a meeting with Northern Ireland's most senior policeman Chief Constable Hugh Orde yesterday, Rev Paisley appeared to cast doubt on the prospect of a deal when he condemned reports that the withdrawal of British soldiers could be speeded up in the event of an agreement. 

The North Antrim MP also insisted Sinn Féin would have to declare its hand before his party on whether it would sign up to the two Governments' formula for reviving power sharing at Stormont and removing the gun forever from Northern Ireland politics. 

"This is not negotiations with Sinn Féin," he declared. "It's an ultimatum to Sinn Féin. Are you going to continue to be terrorists or are you going to quit your terrorist path?" 

The North Antrim MP added: "I will have to do a good deal of swallowing. "I will have to do a good deal of biting my lip in future days but I'm prepared to do that provided they cease to be terrorists." 

As Mr. Paisley held talks with General de Chastelain, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams urged republicans not to be provoked by the DUP chief's remarks that he would have to bite his tongue if a deal was struck. 

Mr. Adams suggested that his bitter political enemy may be slowly and painfully coming round to the prospect of doing business. 

He said: "The language he used is totally unacceptable and I think lots of people would find it very, very provocative. "It does make the whole issue of getting an agreement very frustrating indeed. But it's also the first begrudging, mixed up, convoluted acknowledgment by Ian Paisley of Sinn Féin's mandate." 

The West Belfast MP added that he had no knowledge of the detail surrounding the DUP's latest meeting with the disarmament body. 

Adams again appealed to Paisley to agree to a deal that would lead to the restoration of the power-sharing government at Stormont. 

It is believed the photographic issue has been a major sticking point in the efforts to achieve a deal, although it is possible that Catholic and Protestant clergy could witness an act of disarmament by the IRA along with General de Chastelain. 
 
 

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