SDLP conference to discuss pace of Stormont talks process

Delegates attending the 27th annual SDLP conference which opens in Belfast tonight will focus on the pace of the Stormont talks, and the nationalist requirement for an Irish dimension to any political settlement.

SDLP members will gather in the Wellington Hotel in south Belfast over the weekend to debate the political way ahead at a time of republican and nationalist rumblings about the lack of real movement in the talks.

Delegates will again repudiate violence, jointly endorse the principle of consent and all-Ireland selfdetermination through dual referendums to endorse any agreement, and seek a settlement that "takes account of both unionist and nationalist identities and aspirations".

There may also be a post mortem as to how the party became embroiled in the presidential election against its wishes, following the leaking of a confidential document in which former party general secretary, Ms Brid Rodgers, was reportedly critical of Mrs McAleese.

This is the first SDLP conference since the IRA ceasefire was reinstated. Delegates are expected again to endorse overwhelmingly the work of their leader, Mr John Hume. No dissension is expected to a proposal from the party's East Belfast branch congratulating Mr Hume on his leadership. The conference will also examine the party's performance in the Westminster and local elections in which Sinn Fein made significant inroads into SDLP strongholds. One motion from the Omagh branch, which will be discussed in private, calls on the party executive to make strenuous efforts to ensure the party wins the West Tyrone seat in the next general election.

The SDLP's Mr Joe Byrne had hoped to win the seat but, with Mr Pat Doherty of Sinn Fein also in the race, it eventually went to Mr William Thompson of the Ulster Unionist Party due to the split nationalist vote.

While members may acknowledge Sinn Fein's strong performance in the elections, they may also cite alleged Sinn Fein electoral abuse as partly responsible for its successes. A motion from the Balmoral branch calls for radical reform of the electoral system to cut out fraudulent voting.

Delegates will also decry the decision to allow Orangemen parade from Drumcree through the nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, and call for effective legislation to avert further trouble over parades next summer.