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
The anti-agreement UUP Assembly Member, Mr Peter Weir, dismissed Mr Mandelson's
offer as inadequate and predicted he would change the RUC's name once the
UUP re-entered the Executive. An anti-agreement group, Business for Democracy,
has sent a pamphlet to all UUC delegates advising them to oppose rejoining
the Executive with Sinn Féin. Following a meeting between his party and
Mr Mandelson, Sinn Féin's Mr Martin McGuinness said there was "huge concern within republican and nationalist Ireland" about any dilution of the Patten proposals." Sinn Féin shares those concerns and we spelt this out to the British Secretary of State." Dr Esmond Birnie, UUP Assembly Member for South Belfast, said it was "simply not good enough that the SDLP retreats to an Olympian height every time there is a dispute between Sinn Féin and the UUP as to devolution and decommissioning". The SDLP should make common cause
with "the centre ground and the proven democrats, the Ulster Unionists".
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