Trimble keeps party mantle for now

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 23. Shaken by three days of sectarian rioting, political parties in Northern Ireland began to pick up the pieces today amid reports that the provincial Assembly might be suspended as a last resort to save the peace process. Prospects of a breakthrough, however, remained bleak with none of the major players inclined to make concessions.

Strong anti-republican sentiment marked a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) which leads Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration with Sinn Fein. While the party chief, Mr. David Trimble survived an expected leadership challenge, he remained under pressure from his hardline colleagues to take a tougher line on arms decommissioning by IRA, the paramilitary wing of Sinn Fein. The message was unmistakable - he must either get the IRA to start decommissioning or quit the administration.

The riot-hit areas of Belfast, meanwhile, were quiet but tension remained high and in north Belfast, where the trouble had originated, Protestants again blocked the main path to a Catholic primary school forcing children to take an alternative route. It was outside this school that violence had first erupted on Tuesday after a clash between Protestant and Catholic youths. Security in Belfast has been increased as the police brace themselves for the dreaded marching season. Tension invariably rises during this period as Orangemen insist on marching through Catholic areas, often leading to clashes. The Times reported today that there were fears of violence on a bigger scale this year if Orangemen were not allowed to march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on July 8.

Political negotiations conducted by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr. John Reid and the Irish Foreign Minister, Mr. Brian Cowen at Hillsborough Castle, outside Belfast, on Friday failed to get an agreement on the key issues holding up progress on the Good Friday Agreement - decommissioning and police reforms. While Unionists insisted that the peace process could not move ahead as long as the IRA continued to hold weapons, the Sinn Fein said the British Government must first honour its pledge to reduce its military presence in Northern Ireland and recast the police to the satisfaction of the Catholic community. ``We are, under no circumstances, going to accept that the responsibility is ours and ours alone,'' a Sinn Fein leader said.

Despite official denials, speculation that the Assembly could be suspended persisted and The Guardian quoted unnamed sources as saying that ``some very hard decisions'' may have to be taken, including a review of the Good Friday Agreement. A decision was expected before July 1, the deadline set by Mr. Trimble to quit as head of the governing coalition if the IRA does not start destroying its weapons by then. With the IRA refusing to buckle under the pressure of ``ultimatums'', Mr. Trimble's resignation is widely seen to be a certainty. The British Government was reported to be anxious to pre-empt the political crisis that might follow Mr. Trimble's resignation; and hence the talk of suspending the Assembly before July 1.

``Suspension is a distinct possibility,'' a UUP source told a newspaper confirming the hardline Democratic Unionist Party chief, Rev. Ian Paisley's impression after a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair on Thursday.

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Section  : International
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