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Northern Irish peace talks to enter crucial stage

N. Ireland Peace graphic September 15, 1997
Web posted at: 12:02 p.m. EDT (1602 GMT)

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland issued a joint statement Monday apparently aimed at persuading a key pro-British party to attend a crucial new round of Northern Ireland peace talks.

Britain's Tony Blair and the Irish Republic's Bertie Ahern said the statement was intended to clarify their positions for the round-table talks, which were due to begin in a few hours. For the first time, the talks will include the nationalist Sinn Fein party of Gerry Adams.

"Both governments reaffirm that the aim of the negotiations is to achieve a new and lasting agreement, addressing the totality of relationships, which commands the consent of both Unionists and Nationalists," the statement said.

The prime ministers also reaffirmed that "any agreement in these negotiations must command sufficient consensus among the parties" and that "both governments would like to see the decommissioning of some paramilitary arms during the negotiations."

What's at Stake
At stake in Monday's talks is the success or failure of years of Anglo-Irish diplomacy, which has been aimed at getting pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists to forge a lasting settlement for Northern Ireland. About 3,200 people have been killed in the decades-long conflict in the British province.

The statement was apparently directed toward the key Ulster Unionist Party of David Trimble. Trimble said he would decide on Monday whether to negotiate directly with his arch rival Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army.

Two smaller pro-British parties favoring continued British rule of Northern Ireland have already announced they will boycott the talks.

Sinn Fein gained access to the talks after the IRA in July restored a cease-fire in its decades-old violent campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland.

Trimble had pledged that the Ulster Unionists, the sole mainstream voice of the 60 percent pro-British Protestant majority in the province, would be present at the start of the negotiations at Stormont Castle.

Exclusion

"We realize that in proceeding we will be involved directly or indirectly ... in a process that involves Sinn Fein," Trimble said in a British TV interview on Sunday.

Some analysts believe that Trimble's party will attend the opening of the talks but may then shun direct negotiations with Sinn Fein.

On Thursday, the IRA issued a statement saying it could not agree with democratic principles for the talks, as drawn up by their chairman, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.

Mitchell backs Britain and Ireland's assertion that Northern Ireland's British status should not change until a majority wants it.
icon 340 K/30 sec. (AIFF or WAV sound)

But the IRA and many Sinn Fein spokesmen say the province is an illegal colony and that the people of Ireland should also have a say in its future.

The IRA also said it disagreed with the Irish and British governments' goal of getting paramilitaries to surrender their arms during the talks, saying that would happen only at the end of negotiations.

Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said Sunday it was "time to stop all the stalling and delaying tactics (by Trimble) and move forward to bring the peace settlement."

Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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