Ahern rejects demand by UUP to expel SF if arms are not given up

The Taoiseach has told the Ulster Unionist Party he cannot give the guarantee sought by Mr David Trimble that the Government …

The Taoiseach has told the Ulster Unionist Party he cannot give the guarantee sought by Mr David Trimble that the Government will support the continuation of an all-party executive if the IRA does not deliver on weapons decommissioning.

Mr Trimble yesterday asked the Government and the SDLP for such a guarantee, saying that without it, "we will not be able to accept the proposals".

However, Mr Ahern and the SDLP leader Mr Hume yesterday repeated their position that in the event of a failure to deliver on decommissioning, the executive will be suspended and a "review" will take place.

Mr Ahern met Mr Trimble and a delegation of senior UUP members at Government Buildings yesterday afternoon to discuss the prospects of reaching agreement on the formation of the executive before Thursday's deadline.

READ MORE

Mr Ahern insisted that The Way Forward - the plan published by the British and Irish governments last Friday week at Stormont - meets UUP demands both for a timetable within which decommissioning will happen, and a commitment to the completion of weapons decommissioning by May 2000. He is understood to have stated strongly his personal belief that the IRA will begin to decommission its weapons very shortly after the executive is set up, and will complete the process by May 2000.

However, Mr Trimble is believed to have restated his call, outlined in an article in yesterday's Sunday Times, for specific sanctions to punish Sinn Fein if decommissioning did not occur as promised. In that article he also said the SDLP should support such a plan as the present proposal - the suspension of the executive and a "review" in the event of failure to decommission - would punish the innocent and guilty alike.

Meanwhile, Mr Ahern continued to press behind the scenes over the weekend for an IRA statement signalling support for the approach to decommissioning outlined in The Way Forward. Government sources said last night they were still "hopeful" that such a statement would be forthcoming before Thursday.

Mr Ahern also showed no enthusiasm for suggestions that the deadline could be postponed. Mr Trimble wrote in his Sunday Times article that his party thought it would "take some time" for the people of Britain and Ireland to realise that the UUP position was the correct one. "We intend to take that time," he said.

Asked about the possibility of postponement, Mr Ahern said he was "not getting the sense that that was what people want". He told reporters after the National Day of Commemoration ceremonies in Dublin that he thought postponement would create further problems.

Mr Ahern is due to speak to the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, again this afternoon. He spoke to the Sinn Fein leader, Mr Adams, on Saturday. He said the weekend had seen the most intensive round of discussions between the parties since the Belfast Agreement itself was put in place, and all exchanges had been useful.

Meanwhile, nationalist political and community leaders have demanded that the RUC direct security measures against the Orange Order as it converges on Ormeau Park in south Belfast today and not against nationalist residents.

Around 20,000 Orangemen and tens of thousands of supporters will march to Ormeau Park after the Parades Commission decided to allow the order to switch the destination of its largest annual parade in the North.