DUP play down deal prospects

Republicans, however, are still insisting the British government must not back down from its commitment to the agreement and warn they will be watching to see if it meets the challenge.
Talks begin in earnest on Sept. 1, leading to a prime ministerial summit on Sept. 16-18 at the historic Leeds Castle in Kent, Southeastern England.
The media will be kept physically well back from the talks. The castle, in its own extensive grounds, is fringed by a moat and heavy security will enforce a strict news blackout during the talks.
The talks there will be co-chaired by the two heads of government, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. It’s not expected that Sinn Fein and the DUP will speak to each other directly; instead negotiations will likely be conducted through a series of shuttle meetings and third parties.
Blair has already warned that at the end of negotiations in September the parties would either have agreed a way to move forward on these issues “or we are going to have to search for another way forward.”
Peter Robinson, the deputy leader of the DUP, has repeatedly warned against the danger of talking-up hopes of a September breakthrough. “Realistically, if you look at the matters to be dealt with, there will be more than one trip to the table,” he said.
With party president Gerry Adams still on vacation, the Sinn Fein chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, has set down four key objectives for the talks. Republicans, he said, are not convinced of the two governments’ commitment to progress, especially the British government.
“If republicans are to be convinced that the British government is serious about making this process work we need to see evidence that the agreement is being implemented, positively, constructively, speedily,” said McLaughlin.
“The two governments and the DUP have to play their part. The British government has the pivotal role in creating the context. So far we have seen little evidence to suggest that it is up to this challenge,” said McLaughlin.
The British government responded by saying tough decisions would have to be faced next month. Northern Secretary Paul Murphy said he was encouraged by recent statements from all sides.
The summer’s marching season had been relatively quiet, he said, and it augured well “for the seriousness with which local politicians will tackle the restoration of the institutions.”
Murphy was referring to public statements made over the summer both by leading DUP politicians and by the Sinn Fein leadership on the IRA. The DUP statements have pledged to work the political institutions in good faith if a deal is struck next month.
Adams raised hope of a breakthrough earlier this month when he told republicans they must be prepared to remove the IRA as an excuse for unionists not to engage with them.
He also insisted, however, that the IRA will only disappear in the context of the British and Irish governments implementing the agreement and other peace process pledges in full.
These include commitments on the scaling down of the British army presence in Northern Ireland, human rights, equality, amnesties for on-the-run paramilitaries and policing.
The gap between the DUP and Sinn Fein’s position is still considerable. Most commentators believe a deal is only a 50:50 possibility with concerns that the DUP may want to wait until after next year’s general election before taking the plunge.
The Sinn Fein vice president, Pat Doherty, also said the issue of collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries had to be dealt with. “The British government knows full well that the truth about collusion will expose the extent of its dirty war,” he said.
“The resulting domestic and international outcry would focus an unwanted spotlight on the murky state apparatus which implemented this policy and which still remains intact.
“It would threaten the British establishment ability to control and manipulate policing, courts and other agencies. Unless the British government come clean on collusion, it will continue to undermine the potential for the peace process to succeed,” Doherty said.