February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
“You are not going to get any change at the moment,” he said. “Both sides are just dug into their hard positions. There is not a glimmer of light.”
It has emerged, meanwhile, that it was Reiss who had devised the “compromise” proposal in which publication of photos documenting the destruction of weapons would be delayed until after the DUP had entered into a power-sharing executive with Sinn Fein.
The DUP is still insisting that photographs are needed to ensure confidence in any future act of decommissioning by the IRA, although Sinn Fein says the IRA will “not submit to a process of humiliation.”
Said Reiss, “There was an opportunity to try to see if we could bridge the divide between the DUP and Sinn Fein over photos, and so it seemed to me that it might be possible to delay the publication to address concerns on both sides.”
Without going into details, he confirmed that photography was still involved in the compromise ideas being considered by the governments to break the deadlock. Reiss also warned that foreign investment was at risk if a lasting political settlement was not reached.
Sinn Fein, meanwhile, poured scorn on the prediction by the DUP leader, the Rev. Ian Paisley, that the IRA was considering decommissioning all its weapons — even in the absence of a deal to restore devolution and implement the Good Friday agreement.
Paisley had said last Wednesday that there would be “very serious consequences” for the peace process if the IRA decommissioned without photographs and warned his party would pull out of talks to restore the assembly if the IRA simply went ahead and disarmed.
Sinn Fein expressed exasperation at the remarks, which it described as “an ultimatum to the IRA not to decommission.” It showed, said the party, that Paisley’s real concern was not IRA arms but his desire to publicly humiliate republicans.
The Sinn Fein chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, dismissed Paisley’s claim as “very confused, very stupid” and said it was time he “got down off King Billy’s white horse” and spoke directly to the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams.
“He seems to be saying he would prefer the IRA to hold on to their weapons until the DUP decide an appropriate time,” McGuinness said. “Ian Paisley’s strategy in demanding a photograph he is never going to get is about humiliation and also victory.
“He wants a photo so that he can hold it above his head like a trophy and claim a victory over the IRA. He also wants to be able to claim not one victory but two, as he wants to also claim victory over David Trimble.
“In my opinion, there is absolutely no chance of the IRA ever conceding that stupid demand for a photograph.”
McGuinness said he believed time was running out for a deal.
“I think that there will continue to be intensive work carried on right over the Christmas period, but if there is no progress by then, I believe we are facing one of the most serious crisis we have faced so far,” he said.
“After the New Year some of the parties will be focusing on the next elections, which will only be a few months away, and already there is a debate within the DUP over whether they should do a deal before the election.”
The DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson, said it had been “a good year for unionism.”
“Republicans are on the back foot with three governments and virtually every other political party ranged against them,” he said. “We achieved what the Ulster Unionists never got remotely close to. There must be a total end to decommissioning, a total end to paramilitarism and a total end to all other illegal activity.”