Hell Freezes Over - i.e., Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams to Meet

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Oh to be a fly on the wall.

Paisley and Adams to Meet for First Time to Break Deadlock

Patrick Wintour and Owen Bowcott

Monday March 26, 2007

The Guardian

Ian Paisley, the Democratic Unionist party leader, and Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Féin, are expected to break one of the final taboos of Northern Ireland politics today by sitting down together to try to agree terms on the final establishment of a power-sharing executive for the province.

The unprecedented meeting is of such symbolic and practical importance that the government will back down over its repeated threat to dissolve the Northern Ireland Assembly irrevocably today.

The proposal for a meeting came after a frantic weekend of consultation in Belfast and Berlin where Mr Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern were attending a ceremony to mark 50 years of the EU.

Both prime ministers have repeatedly said the assembly would be dissolved, and direct rule from London permanently restored, if no agreement on an executive had been reached by today's legal deadline.

No 10 was forced into a last-minute change of strategy after Mr Paisley's DUP, agreed in principle on Saturday to share power with Sinn Féin, but demanded a six-week extension of the deadline for the formation of the executive until May.

The DUP, which is badly split, said they needed the further time to see if Sinn Féin would comply with its commitment to cooperate with the Northern Ireland police service.

The DUP's May deadline would still enable the executive to start before Mr Blair resigns, or at least leaves No 10.

The British government decided to shift its ground on the basis that a meeting between Mr Paisley and Mr Adams would represent a statement of serious intent by the DUP and signal that the DUP was willing to shift its ground in return for a deferral.

Mr Paisley's DUP has always refused to meet Sinn Féin and there has never been a shaking of hands between the two; each represents what used to be seen as the two extremes of Northern Ireland sectarian politics.

One Whitehall source said: "Yes, it is messy and we are losing some face, but if the political parties can reach a consensus ... then that is better than us trying to force an agreement upon them. We are insisting on the meeting as a sign that the DUP cannot go on delaying indefinitely. We will also get a deal before the prime minister leaves office".

Mr Adams and Mr Paisley will meet at a Stormont committee meeting. Mr Blair has been mediating to ensure the meeting goes smoothly, and the mood is said to be good.

The source insisted ministers remained confident that Mr Paisley had wanted to do an immediate deal this weekend in line with the government's timetable, but was forced into accepting the deferral in order to maintain some degree of unity within his party .

If Mr Adams and Mr Paisley are able to reach agreement on a timetable today, Mr Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary, will at some point this week pass emergency legislation in parliament amending the previous law stating that the Northern Ireland Assembly would be automatically dissolved if the parties had not agreed to vote in an executive by today.

The necessary emergency legislation is not yet drafted, and may not be ready today.

Defending their call for a further delay, the DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said yesterday: "Saturday's' party executive meeting was truly historic. The DUP has made a firm commitment to participate in power-sharing government in May. We felt there was a need for more time because there were outstanding issues to be resolved.

"We need to have a further testing to ensure Sinn Féin's commitment to the rule of law and to negotiate a [larger] financial package [with Gordon Brown]. We will not be nominating ministers at this stage.

"We have taken an initiative to engage with the government and other parties [today] to try and get agreement on the way forward."

A senior Sinn Féin official said: "We are assured by Downing Street and the Northern Ireland Office that there are no [secret] deals with the DUP. But if the parties come to some sort of agreement then [the governments] will have to take that on board. It's cards close to chests time."

During the day there were claims that Downing Street was prepared to accede to the DUP's demands and was at odds with Mr Hain, who wanted to take a harder line. John Reid, the former Northern Ireland secretary, is said by the DUP to have been closely involved in last week's negotiations with the prime minister. Mr Reid is close to some DUP leaders, even though Mr Hain has struck up a strong relationship with Mr Paisley.

The prospect of delay until May angered the Ulster Unionist party deputy leader and assembly member, Danny Kennedy. "The reality is that the process will continue," he told BBC radio. "All of this is highly cynical, an exercise in huge mismanagement by No 10.

"Blair is more interested in his legacy than restoring devolution to the people of Northern Ireland. We see no reason why there's any real difference between [today] and a matter of a few weeks. I think the secretary of state is clearly undermined and his authority is ridiculed. In any other part of the UK his foot wouldn't touch the floor. He would be out."

Other politicians also vented their frustration. The senior Sinn Féin assembly member, Alex Maskey, said: "There's no question of us acquiescing to a delay. This is not a new commitment by the DUP. They have been in this place before."

However, Mr Hain thought there might yet be sufficient room for manoeuvre. "It really depends on what transpires and there's going to have to be a lot of progress made if an alternative to devolution or dissolution ... is [to be] found," he told the BBC. "If the parties come back with a better option that for the very first time gives certainty, with them all saying they're committing to a date and it's all signed up and sealed ... well, I'm not going to turn my back on that."

The Northern Ireland Office denied there was any divergence over policy with Downing Street. A spokesman also denied that Mr Reid had been involved in the process.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Wow. Hope this lasts. The picture alone is pretty remarkable (yeah, ok, they didn't shake hands, but still).

Northern Ireland Parties Announce Power-Sharing Deal

Last Updated: Monday, March 26, 2007 | 11:34 AM ET

CBC News

Northern Ireland's main Protestant and Catholic parties on Monday announced a deal to forge a power-sharing administration by May 8.

The breakthrough followed the first face-to-face negotiations between Protestants in Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party and Catholics in Gerry Adams' Sinn Fein.

"After a long and difficult time in our province, I believe that enormous opportunities lie ahead for our province," said Paisley.

"We must not allow our justified loathing of the horrors and tragedies of the past to become a barrier to creating a better and more stable future for our children."

Adams said the deal "marks the beginning of a new era of politics on this island."

"Now there's a new start, with the help of God," he said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair quickly welcomed the deal, calling it an "important day" for Northern Ireland.

"The people of Northern Ireland have … said, 'We want peace and power-sharing and people working together,' and the political leadership has then come in behind that and said, 'We will deliver what the people want' ", said Blair.

Adversaries Paisley and Adams, who previously negotiated through third parties, sat together during negotiations in Belfast, but reportedly did not shake hands.

Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party dropped an earlier ban on talks with Sinn Fein because of its connections with the Irish Republican Army.

With files from the Associated Press

[AD]

they played Gerry Adams' 'Never Never Never' speech on CBC tonight. I guess never say never never never.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I keep wondering what all the paramilitaries are going to do. This threatens to take all the fun out of their day.

[timouse]

I keep wondering what all the paramilitaries are going to do. This threatens to take all the fun out of their day.

they will be able to get work with blackwater or wackenhut.

"there's nothing like the personal touch of hired goons."

-montgomery burns