British, Irish Premiers Hold Talks with N.Irish Political LeadersBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Berti Ahern were holding talks with leaders of the main Northern Ireland pro-agreement parties in Belfast on Thursday, trying to break the political stalemate.The parties have been involved in round-table talks, bilateral talks and one-to-one meetings with Blair and Ahern. They were discussing the issues of policing reform, Irish Republican Army (IRA) disarmament and demilitarization which are threatening to destabilize the province's power-sharing institutions. The IRA issued a statement on Thursday to coincide with the talks, in which it said it would renew its contacts with General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body. It then issued another statement saying its representative to the body had made telephone contact. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams welcomed the statements and said it was time for Blair and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to "live up to their responsibilities". The statements came after he and Martin McGuinness briefed the IRA's leadership on the details of the negotiations they have been involved in with the British and Irish governments over the past eight weeks. Speaking after Thursday afternoon's meetings, Sinn Fein Vice President Pat Doherty said only further talks would tell if progress could be made. But he said the agreement Sinn Fein made with the British government in May last year "was still the basis for moving forward". At that time the IRA agreed to become involved in a disarmament process as part of an overall political package to restore the suspended power-sharing executive and implement all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement including police reform and demilitarization. However, Trimble said the focus of the talks should remain on the need to decommission. The Northern Ireland first minister said he would not lift his ban on Sinn Fein ministers on the basis of "mere conversations between the IRA and the arms commission". The Social Democratic and Labour Party has also held bilateral talks with the two prime ministers. Intense discussions have been continuing in an attempt to achieve some movement on the issues before the forthcoming local government and general elections move the focus away from finding agreement. |
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