The Orange card is played once more
by Laura Friel
``The current serious situation has arisen because
Unionism and loyalism are opposed to change,'' said Sinn
Féin President Gerry Adams. Following a meeting on
Tuesday with British Secretary of State, Marjorie
Mowlam, the Sinn Fein delegation called on the British
and Irish governments to ``grab this process by the
scruff of the neck and drive it forward with urgency.
``The unionists are trying to assert a veto,'' Adams
said, ``and it's up to the two governments, especially
the British government, to ensure that this doesn't
happen.''
``The only way we could have an exchange of views with
them was to go in and actually talk with them,'' was how
Unionist Jeffrey Donaldson dismissed accusations of
hypocrisy as he emerged from Long Kesh with Party
leader David Trimble, Ken Maginnis and John Taylor. The
four had held a a three-hour meeting in the prison with
loyalist paramilitaries.
As Sinn Fein representative Gerry Kelly pointed out,
``If Jeffrey Donaldson and party colleagues could go
into the H Blocks and speak directly to those loyalist
prisoners who killed Catholics, he should be prepared
to sit down around the conference table and negotiate
with the democratically elected representatives of the
nationalist community.''
But the Unionist Party remained adamant. Donaldson said
he did not envisage his party sitting down directly
with Sinn Fein. ``We don't see any point in engaging in
direct negotiations with them,'' said Donaldson.
David Trimble was guarded about his meeting with
convicted loyalist paramilitaries, identifying it
simply as a ``useful exchange of views.'' Equally
circumspect, Ken Maginnis described loyalist prisoners
as ``worried'' commenting that the loyalist ceasefire
depended on ``fair play'' from the British Government.
While John Taylor accused Mowlam of ``going out of her
way to side with nationalism''; concessions to
Republicans had been ``going on and on,'' said Donaldson.
``What concessions?'' responded SDLP Deputy Leader Seamus
Mallon. In a newspaper article Brian Feeney, former
SDLP councillor put it more strongly. ``The fact is the
NIO have given no concessions whatsoever to
nationalists. So what's going on? The answer is a very
successful campaign by unionists to prevent any change
in the North.''
Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly also dismissed unionist lists
of concessions as ``pretty pathetic.''
``The reality of the current situation is that
nationalists are seeking equality and parity both
inside and outside of the talks,'' said Kelly, ``we still
have not achieved that and there is much work to be
done to reverse decades of anti-Catholic discrimination
by Jeffrey Donaldson's party.''
The Unionist Party's meeting began minutes after
loyalist prisoners confirmed they had withdrawn their
support from the Stormont talks.
Emerging from a prior three hour meeting with loyalist
prisoners, Gary McMicheal of the Ulster Democratic
Party said he wanted his team to return to the
negotiations but the loyalist prisoners' refusal to
support them could have serious implications. ``Our
position at the moment is quite precarious,'' said
McMichael.
The prisoners' decision has ``implications for the
ceasefire,'' but McMichael assured the media, ``the
prisoners have told us they will back any decision
taken by the UFF leadership.''
Political representatives of the UVF, David Ervine and
Billy Hutchinson, have offered conflicting indications
as to whether PUP will be at Stormont on Monday. The
party's executive is to meet on Friday to discuss
whether to stay in the talks.
Meanwhile, curiously sidelined amid loyalist sabre
rattling, the DUP slammed the Unionist Party for
meeting loyalist prisoners, accusing Trimble of selling
out to terrorism. ``The prison is not the place for
Ulster to have its future determined,'' said Ian Paisley
Jnr. ``If ever proof was required that the talks
delegates have sold out to the terrorist prisoners then
it is the events of the last few days.''
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