(21 Jul 1997) English/Nat
The leader of Northern Ireland's main pro-British party met prime minister Tony Blair on Monday - and rejected a key element in planned peace negotiations.
David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist party, left Downing St without accepting government plans for the IRA to start handing over its weapons, once the negotiations get underway.
Trimble wants a firm timetable for the weapons to be surrendered - or 'decommissioned'.
Monday's meeting came 24 hours after the IRA declared a cease-fire, enabling its political wing Sinn Fein to join peace negotiations in about six weeks time.
After the IRA cease-fire, all eyes are on David Trimble - the man who NOW holds the key to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
He's under intense pressure to accept the government's formula that would allow all parties, including the IRA's political wing Sinn Fein, to enter peace talks.
But hard-liners within his pro-British Ulster Unionist party say proposals for the IRA to start decommissioning its weapons are too vague.
Trimble has until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the decommissioning plan.
He emerged from an hour and a half with Tony Blair in Downing Street on Monday to say he remained opposed - but there'd been some progress:
SOUNDBITE: (English)
'There are some possibilities of progress - that's the best I can put it. But the matter is not yet clear, not yet been clarified, and the Prime Minister is going to make further explorations of the issues to see what can be done. And so the matter is still continuing and not yet sorted out. And of course while the matter has not been clarified to our satisfaction, the position remains that we cannot support that paper should it come to a vote on Wednesday.'
SUPER CAPTION: David Trimble, Leader, Ulster Unionists
Some Unionists suspect the IRA cease-fire isn't sincere - and that the terrorists will use it as breathing space to restock their weapons arsenal.
That's what they believe happened during the first IRA cease-fire in 1994 - hence the focus on arms decommissioning.
There'd been fears that Trimble might quit the peace process entirely - so his decision to continue seeking a solution to the arms issue was greeted with a sigh of relief by the British minister responsible for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam:
SOUNDBITE: (English)
'I just wanted to say that we had a constructive meeting - we didn't reach an agreement. Both sides have gone away to think and we will meet again before Wednesday. What is important from this meeting is that there was no indication that the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party) would walk away from the talks. After the cease-fire, what is so important to so many people in Northern Ireland is that we're able to move the talks process forward. And we made it very clear that central to out thinking was consent and that consent is crucial. The Triple Lock (the vote of the people of Northern Ireland on the peace process) still holds so there is no fear that the views of the majority are not going to be represented in the talks process. In the end to walk away and turn one's back on the process protects no-one.'
SUPER CAPTION: Mo Mowlam, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The British government now faces a tense couple of days as it seeks to build on the IRA's cease-fire declaration - a balancing act that will test the new Labour administration to the limit.
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