TRIMBLE HINTS AT MEETING WITH SF
Trimble hints at meeting with SF
By MERVYN PAULEY
DAVID Trimble last night seemed to be edging towards a mould-breaking meeting with Gerry Adams in the wake of the Clinton visit, which included an emotional trip to bomb-ravaged Omagh.
After a private exchange with the US President, the Ulster Unionist chief dropped the broadest hint yet that a one-on-one session with the Sinn Fein leader might not be far off.
Sources close to the First Minister, however, were at pains to point out that he would consult senior party colleagues before going ahead with any such plan.
Mr Adams's statement that violence must be "over, done with, and gone", and the appointment of Martin McGuinness as Sinn Fein's go-between with the disarmament body, are believed to have increased the chances of head-to-head talks.
Mr Clinton described the statement as "music to the ears" and said it paved the say for progress still to come.
As the President travelled to Dublin last night, Ulster Unionists insisted a start must be made on an arms handover before real headway could be made.
Mr Trimble's signal - before a 2,000-strong invited audience in Belfast's Waterfront Hall was quickly followed by a Clinton call for the decommissioning of "weapons of war". Sitting in the front row were Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator.
Earlier, on the same platform, Tony Blair called on all sides to have the vision, courage and commitment to move forward. This, he said, entailed taking former terrorist weapons out of Irish politics forever.
On the need for courage and without naming Mr Trimble, who is under pressure to take a quantum leap towards direct contact with Mr Adams, the Prime Minister had this to say: "The courage to move ahead, to take risks, to be prepared even when close supporters criticise...
"There are those in Northern Ireland, at times too many, who can give you 15 reasons for staying still, 1,500 reasons for going back, but not one for going forward. Yet this is the time to go forward, carefully yes, but with the certainty that there is no alternative but to carry on."
Mr Trimble told the audience there could be no justification for holding on to weapons. The path ahead was for true democrats only.
In a message aimed at the republican leaders, sitting a few feet away, he said: "Every move you make towards peace, I welcome. Every pledge you make to peace, I will hold you to it.
"As First Minister I will work with anyone who has the interests of peace at heart. I will be frank, I will be firm. Each part of the Agreement, including decommissioning, must be implemented.
"But if you take the road of peace and do so in genuine good faith, you will find me a willing leader in that journey."
In his keynote speech, Mr Clinton urged the people of Northern Ireland not to allow the chances of permanent peace and political stability to slip away. "It may not come again in our lifetime," he warned.
He said courage and reconciliation must drive the Assembly forward in specific ways, and he outlined what was expected:
>To decommission weapons of war that are obsolete in Northern Ireland at peace
>To move forward with a formation of an executive council, adapt your police force so that it has the confidence, respect and support of all the people
>To end street justice, because defining crime, applying punishment, and enforcing the law, must be left to the peoples' elected representatives, the courts and the police
>To pursue early release for prisoners whose organisations have truly abandoned violence and to help them rind a productive, constructive place in society
>To build a more just society where human rights are birth rights and where every citizen receives equal protection under equal treatment under the law."
By MERVYN PAULEY
DAVID Trimble last night seemed to be edging towards a mould-breaking meeting with Gerry Adams in the wake of the Clinton visit, which included an emotional trip to bomb-ravaged Omagh.
After a private exchange with the US President, the Ulster Unionist chief dropped the broadest hint yet that a one-on-one session with the Sinn Fein leader might not be far off.
Sources close to the First Minister, however, were at pains to point out that he would consult senior party colleagues before going ahead with any such plan.
Mr Adams's statement that violence must be "over, done with, and gone", and the appointment of Martin McGuinness as Sinn Fein's go-between with the disarmament body, are believed to have increased the chances of head-to-head talks.
Mr Clinton described the statement as "music to the ears" and said it paved the say for progress still to come.
As the President travelled to Dublin last night, Ulster Unionists insisted a start must be made on an arms handover before real headway could be made.
Mr Trimble's signal - before a 2,000-strong invited audience in Belfast's Waterfront Hall was quickly followed by a Clinton call for the decommissioning of "weapons of war". Sitting in the front row were Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness, Sinn Fein's chief negotiator.
Earlier, on the same platform, Tony Blair called on all sides to have the vision, courage and commitment to move forward. This, he said, entailed taking former terrorist weapons out of Irish politics forever.
On the need for courage and without naming Mr Trimble, who is under pressure to take a quantum leap towards direct contact with Mr Adams, the Prime Minister had this to say: "The courage to move ahead, to take risks, to be prepared even when close supporters criticise...
"There are those in Northern Ireland, at times too many, who can give you 15 reasons for staying still, 1,500 reasons for going back, but not one for going forward. Yet this is the time to go forward, carefully yes, but with the certainty that there is no alternative but to carry on."
Mr Trimble told the audience there could be no justification for holding on to weapons. The path ahead was for true democrats only.
In a message aimed at the republican leaders, sitting a few feet away, he said: "Every move you make towards peace, I welcome. Every pledge you make to peace, I will hold you to it.
"As First Minister I will work with anyone who has the interests of peace at heart. I will be frank, I will be firm. Each part of the Agreement, including decommissioning, must be implemented.
"But if you take the road of peace and do so in genuine good faith, you will find me a willing leader in that journey."
In his keynote speech, Mr Clinton urged the people of Northern Ireland not to allow the chances of permanent peace and political stability to slip away. "It may not come again in our lifetime," he warned.
He said courage and reconciliation must drive the Assembly forward in specific ways, and he outlined what was expected:
>To decommission weapons of war that are obsolete in Northern Ireland at peace
>To move forward with a formation of an executive council, adapt your police force so that it has the confidence, respect and support of all the people
>To end street justice, because defining crime, applying punishment, and enforcing the law, must be left to the peoples' elected representatives, the courts and the police
>To pursue early release for prisoners whose organisations have truly abandoned violence and to help them rind a productive, constructive place in society
>To build a more just society where human rights are birth rights and where every citizen receives equal protection under equal treatment under the law."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/269
Published Date: 04-Sep-98
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