N. Ireland Assembly headed for suspension

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, AUG 10. The Northern Ireland Assembly was today headed for a brief suspension which would give the warring parties another six weeks to resolve their dispute over decommissioning. The suspension was likely to be for just 24 hours and a formal annoucement was awaited ahead of tomorrow's constitutional deadline to find a way out of the political crisis following the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) chief, Mr. David Trimble's resignation as head of the provincial government to force the IRA to destroy its weapons.

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr. John Reid, and the Irish Foreign Minister, Mr. Brian Cowen, had extensive talks at the Hillsborough Castle, just outside Belfast, today amid conflicting suggestions from Unionists and Republicans. While hardline Unionists called for dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections, the Republicans opposed any move, including suspension, that would seem like capitulating to Unionists who are insisting that they would not return to the Assembly unless the IRA starts decommissioning.

The Sinn Fein president, Mr. Gerry Adams, said freezing the Assembly even for a day would amount to acquiescing to the Unionist veto on the IRA's offer on decommissioning. Unionists have rejected the offer because it does not set out a time-frame but the IRA insists that it would not act under pressure and would decide the timing and method of decommissioning in consultation with the independent international decommissioning body.

``The act of suspension by the British Government ...if this happens with the British Government acquiescing to a unionist veto changes everything'', he said adding that the whole peace process was at a ``crossroads''. Another senior Sinn Fein leader, Mr. Martin McGuinness, cautioned that the British Government must first calculate the effect of suspending the Assembly on nationalists and republicans. Such a move, he said, would be viewed as a ``reward'' for Mr. Trimble for bringing the peace process to a near collapse. There was speculation that Republicans might walk away from the peace process if the Assembly was suspended. It would be the second time that the Assembly would be suspended since it was set up following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The anti-agreement Unionists, led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), called for a review of the peace process and fresh elections to determine public opinion. The DUP's deputy leader, Mr. Peter Robinson, said:``They should respect democracy and call elections.'' But the British and Irish Governments were reported to be concerned that elections might lead to further polarisation with both Unionist and Republican hardliners gaining at the cost of the moderates as happened in the general elections when DUP and Sinn Fein made signficant gains at the expense of the moderate UUP and SDLP respectively.

Mr. Trimble, pushed by his party hawks not to yield to the pressure to accept the IRA offer, attacked the Government for not pressuring the IRA to act more decisively on decommissioning.

``Opportunistic, sentimental soundbites appear to be the only mode of discourse for a Government with lists of apparent concessions (to Republicans)'', he said. A short suspension, he said, would help if there was credible expectation that in the intervening period the IRA would move on decommissioning.

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Section  : International
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