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N. Ireland peace deal within reach

Sinn Fein representatives Gerry Adams (left) and Martin McGuinness outside Stormont castle Friday morning

Last-minute snags cause delay

April 10, 1998
Web posted at: 10:23 a.m. EDT (1423 GMT)

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- The marathon Northern Ireland peace talks were hit by last-minute wrangling Friday, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said the problems are not insurmountable. As negotiations continued, there appeared to be clear signs that a peace deal to end three decades of sectarian conflict in the troubled province could come by the end of the day.

An apparent breakthrough in the talks came some seven hours after a deadline of Thursday midnight, and politicians representing the divided province's pro-British Protestant majority said they were optimistic approval of a final draft agreement was near.

In the early hours of the morning, Sinn Fein representatives Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness took a break from the tension. By most accounts the political wing of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, remains disappointed and hesitant.

Negotiators in Belfast express their views of the N.Irleand peace process
Lord Alderdice of the cross-community Alliance Party talks about what he percieves as improvements in the most recent draft of the peace agreement.
	AIFF or WAV (448 K / 35 sec. audio)
Sinn Fein representative Mitchel McLaughlin discusses his party's position going into a new round of talks.
	AIFF or WAV (352 K / 30 sec. audio)
Social and Democratic Labor Party leader John Hume, a moderate unionist, discusses the position of his party.
	AIFF or WAV (320 K / 25 sec. audio)

"Even at this late stage we remain focused and engaged on these negotiations and will continue to seek to secure (our) objectives," Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin told reporters at a news conference early Friday.

The attitude of Sinn Fein is crucial because it could determine the reaction of a section of the province's 40 percent Roman Catholic minority.

John Alderdice, leader of the moderate Alliance Party, said that any agreement forged without Sinn Fein would lead to an "unfortunate and unsatisfactory state of affairs."

Mitchell's final draft agreement

George Mitchell, the former U.S. senator who has chaired 22 months of gruelling talks, prepared the final draft of a new peace agreement, which was presented to all eight political parties negotiating at the talks in Stormont Castle near Belfast.

All sides were given an hour or two to look over the document which is a synthesis of all the new amendments made by various parties in the last few hours.

The Ulster Unionists, the province's biggest pro-British party, have been deadlocked with nationalist parties who want much closer political links with Dublin to reflect their Irish identity.

If all the major parties agree to sign the document it is expected there will be a plenary session of the talks' participants. If a majority approve the deal, there will then likely be a signing ceremony at Stormont.

Sources say confirmation by nearly all parties is expected but not Sinn Fein, since the agreement probably contains too many elements of continuing British government involvement in Northern Ireland and Unionist legislative power.

If Sinn Fein does not sign the deal they may not reject it outright. The party does not have enough electoral power in Northern Ireland or in the talks to kill the vote so it may try to present the decision not to sign as a "win-win' situation. Sinn Fein would be able to tell party members at their annual meeting in a few weeks that the deal was rejected as "too Unionist" but at the same time important concessions were won, anyway.

If an agreement is reached and signed, the document must still be approved by the membership of all the parties that signed it and then by separate referenda in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic next month.

Message board:

• The conflict in Northern Ireland

Related stories:

• Last day, last hope for Northern Ireland peace talks - April 9, 1998
• Peace hangs in the balance as N. Ireland deadline nears - April 8, 1998
• Mitchell presents draft peace plan for Northern Ireland - April 6, 1998
• Optimism in the air as N. Ireland talks near finish - April 6, 1998
• Sinn Fein returns to talks and bickering resumes - March 23, 1998

Related sites:

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• Northern Ireland Office
• Sinn Féin
• The Irish Republican Army - and the armed struggle in Irish politics
• Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP)
• Ulster Unionist Party
• The Irish News and Belfast Morning News- Northern Ireland's largest morning newspaper
• Northern Ireland Public Service Web
• Britain in the USA: Northern Ireland: Frameworks for the Future

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