Mo Mowlam, Does not regret not triggering formation of executive
Senior Ulster Unionists are meeting in Belfast tomorrow to discuss the draft document drawn up at the Hillsborough talks. Some Unionists have already criticised what they say is the document's failure to deal with the decommissioning of weapons. The Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, speaking to supporters in Belfast this afternoon, said that the impasse remained and it would take a huge effort to shift the blockage.
The Northern Ireland Secretary has said that she does not regret not having triggered the process this week to set up an executive. However, Mo Mowlam said the important thing was that the parties themselves had agreed a document, which she believed would enable them to make progress. They now had ten days to consider the situation and time to think about the document before returning to their discussions at Hillsborough. Dr. Mowlam said that yesterday was an important step and there was now no turning back.
The Northern politicians are expected to begin assessing the implications of yesterday's declaration produced by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister today. This follows the adjournment of the Hillsborough talks. The negotiations will resume on April the 13th in an attempt to break the deadlock over arms decommissioning and the formation of a power-sharing executive. President Clinton has expressed support for the declaration, but it has been criticised by Anti-Agreement parties.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, the Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said that the declaration is very imprecise on the issue of decommissioning. However, he said that the onus is now on Sinn Fein to deliver on the declaration as it stands. The Northern Ireland Unionist Party condemned what it called Tony Blair's massive capitulation on arms decommissioning. NIUP Assembly member Cedric Wilson predicted that no paramilitary weapons would be handed over.
