Dublin and London agree key role for Mitchell

THE British and Irish governments have agreed to invite the former US senator, Mr George Mitchell, to play an important role in the all party talks, opening on Monday week.

This was one of the crucial issues resolved by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, at an informal Anglo Irish Conference meeting in Iveagh House, Dublin, yesterday.

With the two Ministers determined not to say or do anything which could affect tomorrow's elections in the North, it could not be confirmed last night what precise role would be offered to Senator Mitchell. There was speculation, however, that he would be jointly asked to chair the decommissioning or the North South strands of the talks.

Government sources suggested that the long standing difficulties surrounding decommissioning of paramilitary arms, parallel to the political talks, had not been resolved yesterday, but the two governments "know where they are going now".

It is understood that Anglo Irish officials have been directed to draft a text to surmount the decommissioning hurdle when they meet on Friday. Mr Spring and Sir Patrick will meet again in London on Tuesday.

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, meanwhile, moved to set out the Government's position on actual decommissioning in the Dail yesterday, saying that it wanted the issue to be addressed in accordance with the Mitchell report.

"Paragraph 34 of the report states that the parties should consider an approach under which some decommissioning would take place during the process of all party negotiations rather than before or after the negotiations," he said. "I stress the words `that the parties should consider'. It is a question of consideration that is at issue, not anything more or less."

He said that what was at stake was not the views of the Irish Government as to the ideal situation.

He reiterated later that the government saw no place for illegal arms in the political equation. "What is at stake here is the basis on which the discussions are taking place," he added.

Both Mr Spring and Sir Patrick were deliberately tight lipped at a press briefing following their three hour meeting yesterday. Mr Spring said they had looked at a range of issues such as agendas and procedures and how to bring forward the Mitchell report on decommissioning. "I would have to say we had a satisfactory meeting," he added.

Agreeing with the Tanaiste's description of the meeting, Sir Patrick said it had been useful and helpful, "but there is a lot of work yet to be done".

On a possible role for the chairman of the international body on decommissioning, Senator Mitchell, Sir Patrick said they had discussed the question of chairmanships, including Senators Mitchell, for whom they shared a very high regard.

It would not be sensible, he suggested, to go into detail at the moment. Both Mr Spring and Sir Patrick rejected any suggestion that the all party talks on June 10th could be postponed.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr David Trimble, writes in today's Irish Times that his party regards the concept of three separate negotiations on three separate strands with nothing agreed until everything is agreed "as a recipe for failure". It wanted a single negotiation dealing with a single agenda that would cover all relevant issues, he writes.

Mr Trimble criticised the "little Hitlers in the Department of Foreign Affairs and their accomplices in Stormont Castle" for attempting to set out in advance a tight framework so that the talks proceeded along the fixed lines to preordained conclusion. That attitude would produce failure, he said.