Sinn Fein 'hopeful' about NI package

Sinn Fein leadership met in Dublin to discuss tactics

Sinn Fein's chairman has said he is hopeful the British and Irish government's political package will be able to break the peace process impasse.

Mitchel McLaughlin made the comment after his party's ruling executive met in Dublin on Saturday to review last week's talks between the province's pro-Agreement parties and the British and Irish prime ministers.

After the five days of intensive talks at Weston Park in Staffordshire last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said they would put forward a "non-negotiable" package to put to all the pro-Agreement parties.

Mr McLaughlin said Sinn Fein was looking forward to getting a copy of the document being prepared by the two governments in an attempt to broker a settlement on the issues of illegal paramilitary arms, policing reform, demilitarisation and the stability of the political institutions.

"If all that is approached in a constructive way, we would hope for a productive outcome. Let us await the paper, and we will see," Mr McLaughlin said.

'Policing requirement'

However, he said the proposals would have to be in line with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement on the issue of changes to policing.

Mitchel McLaughlin: "Document must satisfy Sinn Fein on policing"

The Sinn Fein chairman said if the document - expected to be submitted to the Northern Ireland political leaders by the middle of next week - fell short of the Agreement, it would not be acceptable.

"In the terms of policing, there is a very, very specific remit for an accountable and representative policing service that all can join," he said.

"If the British Government cannot deliver on that, there have to be serious questions about their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.

He added: "There is also a responsibility on the Irish Government in all of this."

David Trimble: Determined not to re-enter government without IRA decommissioning

Mr McLaughlin said Sinn Fein would issue a response to the package ahead of the end of the six weeks available to the parties to find a resolution by 12 August.

Following Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble's resignation as Northern Ireland first minister, at the end of that period, if there has been no deal the British Government will have to either suspend the assembly or call an assembly election.

Mr Trimble resigned as first minister because of the IRA's refusal to disarm.

Mr McLaughlin said he did not know if the IRA would respond to the move by the two governments.

'Verbal assurance not enough'

Meanwhile, speaking on the BBC's Inside Politics programme on Saturday, Northern Ireland Finance Minister Mark Durkan said another verbal assurance from the IRA on decommissioning would not be enough to safeguard the future of the assembly.

Mark Durkan: "Verbal assurance on arms will not be sufficient"

The SDLP minister said there would have to be some indication of progress on the arms issue before the political institutions could be stabilised.

He said: "I don't believe that some more fine-sounding words will be enough to give us a basis for securing the full implementation of the Agreement.

"All that will mean, is that people would then say: okay we will have to test that in a month or two month's time.

"And then we would be back into the same sort of impasse that we are in.

"We can't run the Agreement on this sort of stop-go way."

In May 2000 the IRA gave a verbal assurance that it would move towards putting its weapons beyond use by the end of June 2000 as part of a deal agreed by the pro-Agreement parties during talks at Hillsborough.

However, it has so far refused to begin actual decommissioning because it says the context of full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement under which it agreed to disarm has not been achieved.

David Trimble has made it clear that he will not return as first minister to the joint office held with the SDLP acting deputy first minister Seamus Mallon unless the IRA begins decommissioning it weapons.

Speaking in Brazil on Saturday, where he is on an official visit, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the two governments expected to be in a position to hand over their joint proposals to the Northern Ireland parties next week.