Treaties
From NEWS LETTER March 9th, 1999
MERVYN PAULEY
Pressure mounts on Provos.
THE IRA yesterday came under new London-Dublin pressure to start decommissioning
its weapons. It was put on the spot as Ulster Secretary Mo Mowlam and Eire
foreign minister David Andrews formally signed four treaties - seen as key
elements of the Belfast Agreement - at a ceremony in Dublin. Assembly parties
for and against the peace deal were at odds over the historic move, hailed
by Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon as a "centrally important step" along
the road to fulfilling commitments entered into in the Agreement. He declared:
"An old quarrel between Britain and Ireland is being put to rest. We must begin the business of constructing a peaceful and prosperous future for all our people, with all speed." DUP leader Ian Paisley attacked the signing
while one of his party coleagues, Assembyman Gregory Campbell, insisted
the treaties would forever alter the status of Northern Ireland and how
it was governed into the new millennium. Mr Campbell accused Dr Mowlam of
trying "to ram this whole process across the finishing line" against the
wishes of the unionist community and said his party was "intent on salvaging something out of this charade". Yesterday's move - opening the door for
the new British-Irish and North-South scenarios, including six cross-border
implementation bodies - sent a new message on weapons to the IRA and Sinn
Fein. The treaties cannot become operative ahead of the establishment of
a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland - and that won't happen ahead
of a move on decommissioning. That missing dimension was signalled yesterday
by both Dr Mowlam and Mr Andrews minutes after they signed the documents.
Prime Minister Tony Blair later spoke on the telephone for 10 minutes to
his Dublin counterpart Bertie Ahern, welcoming the signing of the north-south
treaties. Mr Blair said it showed the importance of persevering. He said
that the agreement must be implemented in all its parts. The two leaders
agreed to keep in touch. The Secretary of State pointed to today's meeting
between Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and First Minister David Trimble as
an indication of efforts being made to resolve the arms issue. She said:
"The building blocks are now in place and I believe that gives everybody the chance to walk down that road of peace leading to a non-violent future which has not been possible in the past." Mr Andrews said: "One piece of the jigsaw remains. We are all aware that there remain great difficulties surrounding the formation of the Northern Ireland executive. "But these difficulties can and must be surmounted. The promise of the Agreement is now so tantalisingly close to becoming a reality that we cannot allow ourselves to contemplate failure." The Dublin minister said he was heartened by the
determination of Mr Trimble and Mr Adams to pursue dialogue between their
parties. Dr Mowlam rejected DUP criticism of the treaties. She pointed out
that Mr Paisley had been consulted in advance about the plans but added:
"Being consulted is not the same as getting your own way." The documents,
signed in Dublin Castle, permit the establishment of four key dimensions
of the deal struck last Easter by the two governments and Ulster's political
leaders. Centrally it will lead - given movement on the executive - to the
setting up of the six cross-border bodies to implement the Agreement and
also see the introduction of a North-South ministerial council, a British/Irish
council and a British/Irish inter-governmental conference. Parliamentary
legislation enabling the treaties to go ahead was being introduced in the
House of Commons last night and in the Dail later this week. After the signing
ceremony, Dr Mowlam looked forward to advances on the establishment of an
executive in time for the first anniversary of the Good Friday deal. She
commented: "No one wants to go past Easter and into the marching season
and elections." Esmond Birnie, the Ulster Unionists' spokesman on the North-South
and British-Irish councils, said last night the implementation bodies only
came into being if devolution actually occurred. He added that if the Assembly
were to collapse, the bodies could not continue to operate. |
