Unease as Police Bill dissension builds in intensity Leaked letter from Mandelson to Trimble manages to upset all parties
From IRISH TIMES May 17th, 2000
By DEAGLAN DE BREADUN and SUZANNE BREEN
There was growing uncertainty over the political outlook for the North last
night with an outbreak of dissension among the parties on the contents of
the Police Bill and a leaked private letter from the Northern Secretary
to the Ulster Unionist leader. Over the next few days, it will become clear
whether the various political statements and counter-statements constitute
a serious threat to the process or are motivated by factional rivalry and
attempts to win last-minute concessions from the British government. Concern
was growing that further deterioration in the situation would lead to the
withdrawal of the IRA offer to put its weapons beyond use. There was also
continuing doubt over the outcome of the Ulster Unionist Council meeting,
assuming it went ahead as planned on Saturday. The Sinn Fein president,
Mr Gerry Adams, said that, while the British and Irish governments had committed
themselves to the implementation of the Patten proposals on policing, the
Police Bill did not fulfil that commitment and represented a "major departure"
from Patten on some of the most important issues. Meanwhile, the Ulster
Unionist Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh, Mr Danny Kennedy, said Mr
Mandelson's letter to Mr David Trimble was insufficient to allay unionist
fears. Speaking after a meeting of his Assembly party at Stormont, Mr Kennedy
said: "There is a general feeling that the letter doesn't go far enough in what it indicates, not only by the UUP but by the greater number of people of Northern Ireland. Clearly, there are a number of issues that can't be avoided and can't be overlooked either." "In terms of the name of the RUC, and particularly with the flying of the Union flag, in this part of the United Kingdom many of us are at the end of our tether with the SDLP and Sinn Féin, who are supposedly pro-agreement parties and have signed themselves up to acceptance of Northern Ireland's position within the United Kingdom. The reality of that is that the flag of the nation is only the one flag, namely the Union flag." In his letter, the Northern Secretary reassured
Mr Trimble that the RUC was not being disbanded and said he believed an
"honourable and permanent place" could be found for its name consistent
with the Patten proposals. Mr Mandelson also said that if the Assembly collapsed
again, the North/South Ministerial Council would not meet and the functions
of the implementation bodies would "return to where they came from". The
SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, appealed to both governments to stop
the "drip feed" of concessions. He said sending letters to some political
parties was damaging the devolution process. He criticised the UUP for making
the RUC's name and the flying of the Union flag a stumbling block to re-entering
the Executive. "For two years, we had a problem. The problem was decommissioning. One half-hour after the decommissioning issue was effectively resolved, then we had two more issues on the table. Then when you look at the Secretary of State's letter, it is very clear it is not just those two issues. That is not the way to do political business either by the Secretary of State or by any of the parties," he said. The UUP deputy leader, Mr John Taylor,
described the Northern Secretary's letter as "disappointing" and said it
was "devoid of decisions" on the RUC name and the flag issue. He said the
political process had been "moving adversely" over the past week and "this is a further adverse contribution". |
