Talks with Spring a waste of time, says Alderdice

THE Alliance Party leader, Dr John Alderdice, in an uncharacteristically scorching statement, has told the two main unionist parties that there is no point in talking to the Tanaiste, Mr Spring.

And a leading unionist, Mr Reg Empey, has argued that a new elected body would benefit nationalists as much as unionists.

Dr Alderdice yesterday accused Mr Spring of being narrow minded and discourteous, and of traducing his party. "I am afraid that if unionists were to ask me about talking to Dick Spring, at present, I should have to tell them that they would be wasting their time," he said.

He claimed Mr Spring, immediately prior to a pre Christmas meeting with the Alliance Party, condemned proposals his party were to put to him without being aware of their contents.

"A failure of politeness, much less of open mindedness. Now he claims that elections to all party talks are a notion from only one side of the community.

"I regard that as a smear to my party, and a degree of partisanship which seriously weakens the value he can have as a constructive contributor to balanced agreement," said Dr Alderdice.

Mr Reg Empey, honorary secretary of the Ulster Unionist Party, said a new elected body would provide all parties with the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to exclusively peaceful means of achieving political progress.

He said if all parties were to progress to the point of a settlement, many compromises were necessary. "If the method of a strictly limited elected conference/negotiating table makes representatives of the unionist community better able to address all the issues, then surely that is also in the interests of nationalists," Mr Empey said. The UUP envisaged that the body would have no legislative or administrative powers, have a time limit of about two years, and report to the Northern Secretary on any agreed settlement which would be put to the people of Northern Ireland.

It would also deal with the "totality of relationships throughout these islands". This would involve discussions and hearings with the Dublin Government, and other parties and organisations in the Republic, Mr Empey told a meeting of the South Antrim Association in Templepatrick last night.

Meanwhile, Mr Tom French chairman of the Workers' Party in the North, said an election at this time would be divisive, unhelpful and cause sectarian division. An election could do irreparable damage to the peace process.

Mr Ruairi O Bradaigh, the president of Republican Sinn Fein, accused the British government of effectively rejecting the Mitchell report and of fully espousing unionist and Alliance proposals for a "new Stormont".

"It is quite clear for all who wants to see that the unionists will settle for nothing other than a return to their old ascendancy."

Mr Kevin McQuillan, of the Irish Republican Socialist Party said the proposed elected body marked the British government's effective "withdrawal from the peace process".