David Trimble, Will propose reform measures
The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, has announced plans to reduce the influence of the Orange Order on his party. Mr Trimble has said that he intends proposing a set of reform measures which could stop the Order and other anti-agreement groupings sending delegates to the party's policy-making council. Mr Trimble, who at last month's council meeting survived a leadership challenge from the Reverend Martin Smyth, said that the move had been planned for some months.
Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin has said that Unionist doubts about the IRA's commitment to peace should be allayed by the fact that its ceasefire remains intact despite the recent political setbacks. He made the comments at a conference organised by the Friends of the Good Friday Agreement in London, in response to Unionist calls for Republicans to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process.
Earlier, the senior Ulster Unionist negotiator, Sir Reg Empey, said the North's power sharing government could be restored swiftly if paramilitary groups faced up to their responsibilities for arms decommissioning. The East Belfast Assemblyman said that the public needed to be assured that there would be no threats from any private armies to the democratic process. Sir Reg Empey said that the closing of the gap between what Republicans say they want and what they are actually doing must be addressed in the next six or eight weeks.
The SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon said the reality was that it was now clear that product was not going to be delivered in the sense that the Unionist parties were seeking for the past two years.
