In what Sinn Fein described, in barely disguised fury, as a concession to a timetable set by the Rev. Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party, the British and Irish governments’ talks this Friday in London will only be a stock-taking exercise, not the kick-start of intensive negotiations.
Sinn Fein has repeatedly said it’s keen to strike a deal as soon as possible, with the party expressing frustration that the governments had “bought into the timeframe set down by the DUP.”
The DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson, has again demanded “transparent” and total IRA decommissioning. When asked what form of credible decommissioning would satisfy him, he suggested IRA weapons being “destroyed and filmed by CNN whilst a flute band marched around the pyre.”
Robinson also said it had taken three full years of dialogue to reach the agreement and it was unreasonable to expect his party to renegotiate it at haste. His party was more concerned about getting a resolution right than getting it quickly, he said.
“It is far better that we work slowly in building up this agreement, making sure that it’s something that is lasting and stable, rather than simply rushing into it and taking something that’s cobbled together and could collapse at the first difficulty that comes along,” he said.
The U.S. special envoy, Mitchell Reiss, is due to return to Northern Ireland later this month for discussions with the political parties, but it’s far from clear if he will find any progress toward a comprehensive political deal.
The Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, was angry at news of more delay. “Once again the governments are allowing Unionism and, in particular, a party which has clearly declared itself against the agreement and which refuses to accept and respect the mandates of others to set the pace in the process,” he said.
“This is unacceptable. There is no reason why the effort to resolve this should be put off for the summer and we will put this directly to the British prime minister and the taoiseach.”
Speaking at the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in County Kildare on Sunday, Adams said that republicans had to rise to the continuing challenges of the peace process, confident in their analysis.
“This means more challenges ahead for Irish republicans,” he said. “This means republicans facing up to these challenges sure in our belief in our republican analysis, and confident in our peace strategy.”
Northern Secretary Paul Murphy has urged people to cheer up and not be disheartened. Murphy described Friday’s talks in London as “a stock-taking exercise” in tandem with a document it has prepared on issues raised in the ongoing review of the agreement.
“I do not know if a deal is likely to be done this week,” he said. “Obviously both governments would like it to be done. But we have to be realistic and it may take longer than that.”
Sinn Fein, meanwhile, has been granted leave to apply for a judicial review of Murphy’s decision to punish them over alleged IRA activity. The party has won its first battle in a bid to challenge the first report of the Independent Monitoring Commission.
Michael Lavery, a senior lawyer representing Sinn Fein, argued that Murphy’s decision to impose a financial penalty of