Pressure builds up over policing

By BBC Northern Ireland political editor Stephen Grimason

The peace process was, last week, a mixture of blame game, hard ball and nervousness with a pinch or two of whingeing thrown in for good measure.

So no change there then, but it was a tough seven days for the ever decreasing circle of optimists.

The parties emerged from meetings with the prime minister and the taoiseach in London and Dublin with a deal appearing as far off as ever on the contentious issues of policing, weapons and watchtowers.

Slowly but surely the policing pressure has been piling up on the shoulders of Sinn Fein and the SDLP.

Reports that the SDLP was about to make a deal which would take them into the new police board were rejected.

But Gerry Adams, emerging from his meeting with Bertie Ahern on Thursday, talked about the need to stick together - a shot across the SDLP's bows perhaps, or was it aimed at Mr Ahern?

Bertie Ahern: Met parties in Dublin

On Friday, Sinn Fein vice president Pat Doherty complained the Irish Government was briefing against republicans, blaming them for lack of progress on the policing issue.

Who? Us? was the official comment from Dublin but I have certainly detected more than a hint of exasperation.

There is a nagging doubt there about republican intentions.

This was alluded to by Bertie Ahern in the Dail in answer to a question from Labour leader Ruairi Quinn, who wanted to know if Sinn Fein were serious about the policing issue or were they just trying to deflect attention away from decommissioning.

Mr Ahern gave an answer which, in essence, said all would eventually be revealed, hardly a ringing endorsement of republican intent.

Sinn Fein spokesmen insist they are deadly serious about the policing issue and for the purest of motives.

They argue their presence on the police board would transform the decommissioning argument.

It would be telling unionism the war is over. How could there possibly be an IRA return to conflict if its political wing was advising republicans to join up?

John Reid: More discussions are due next week

Sinn Fein has, however, set the conditions for their entry to the new police board at a level beyond what even Dublin is prepared to accept - a key demand is to take the policing legislation back into parliament for amendment.

Tony Blair has already told Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness that is not on.

No-one involved in the peace process doubts republicans are serious players but occasionally other key figures wonder what they are serious about.

One cynical scenario would see efforts to secure a deal on policing, weapons and watchtowers break down but with the focus on policing rather than arms.

Republicans would then go into victim mode - perfidious Albion wrecked a new beginning on policing and so on.

The 20th anniversary of the hunger strike would then kick in as another means of boosting Sinn Fein's prospects for the general election.

Fascinating stuff but its not as simple as that.

The SDLP, among others, is unlikely to let them off the hook as easily as that and besides, the hunger strike commemoration will beg questions about what those men died for and republican dissidents are determined not to be drowned out in that discussion.

The SDLP, of course, has its own problems and will soon have to make up its own mind on policing.

The party has moved closer to acceptance of the new arrangements but on issues like the inquiries into the murders of Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson and Robert Hamill there is still a gap between its minimum requirement and what the British Government is prepared to offer, particularly on the Finucane case.

Discussion

The SDLP plan for this week, a final round table discussion aimed at getting a deal, initially fell on stony ground with the Irish.

Sinn Fein was lukewarm to say the least and David Trimble all but rejected it.

London, however, felt the idea had its attractions, not least because the alternative was deeply unattractive and now it is being generally embraced as a sort of last chance.

The discussions have been pencilled in for Thursday afternoon at Hillsborough and will be chaired by the Secretary of State, John Reid, and the Irish Foreign Minister, Brian Cowen.

If they were seen to be getting somewhere Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern would be on standby, their cake icing funnels akimbo!

Another week, another deadline and expectations driven down by all and sundry.

It was ever thus - don't rule out a deal.