THE Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, has created the potential for some movement in the multi party talks by relaxing his insistence on prior paramilitary decommissioning. He has expressed a willingness to "pigeonhole" the disarmament demand, but only as long as Sinn Fein is excluded from the negotiations.
The SDLP gave a qualified welcome to Mr Trimble's initiative, although the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said that unionists must not be allowed to have a veto over how the talks proceed.
Mr Trimble's move follows the revelation that the British and Irish governments are preparing a paper to try to break the deadlock on decommissioning. The two governments believe the issue should be addressed parallel to substantive talks in line with the Mitchell recommendations.
While Mr Trimble's initiative does not go as far as the two governments would like, it represents a potentially significant development in that the UUP is moving some distance from the DUP, which is demanding prior paramilitary decommissioning before the talks can proceed to substantive matters.
Mr Trimble's offer to temporarily sideline the disarmament question would allow the current talks to proceed to substantive matters with the loyalist parties, which are linked to the UVF and UDA. However, Mr Trimble was careful to emphasise yesterday that he would reactivate the prior decommissioning demand if Sinn Fein should be "parachuted" into the talks.
Mr Trimble made his announcement during yesterday's meeting of the Northern Ireland.
Afterwards, he emphasised that his party was still holding to its position of last October that, in the event of a genuine IRA ceasefire, Sinn Fein could only enter substantive talks after the IRA had handed over some arms.
The SDLP, with reservations, welcomed Mr Trimble's announcement, although there was some suspicion within the party that it could be a move to try to force the two governments to abort their position paper on decommissioning, which is due to be published in "a matter of weeks".
The idea for "pigeonholing decommissioning" is understood to have been developed at last weekend's conference in South Africa.
The former SDLP chairman, Mr Mark Durkan, said that the move would be welcomed if it was a genuine attempt to move the talks to a proper negotiating stage. He said that the SDLP had always been prepared to move to a substantive phase of the talks even in the absence of Sinn Fein.
Mr Durkan said that the SDLP would be seeking clarification from Mr Trimble about what the position would be if there was a genuine IRA ceasefire and Sinn Fein was invited to the talks. The SDLP's position was that decommissioning should be addressed during talks, in line with the Mitchell principles, rather than before.
Mr Adams said that the onus for progress rested with the two governments "David Trimble's willingness to sideline decommissioning and engage in substantive negotiations with the loyalist parties in the absence of a genuine loyalist ceasefire smacks of double standards", he said.
The Northern Ireland Office, in a statement yesterday, said that, while the two governments obviously had "ideas" on how to activate the talks, there would have to be "agreement within the talks on how decommissioning should be handled".
Meanwhile, Mr Trimble spoke yesterday of an "expectation" that the republican movement would create as much trouble as possible in order to derail the peace process.
"I believe there is a danger that the talks will be subverted", he said. "Sinn Fein are trying to spin out the talks and are probing the strength of the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. In spinning out the talks, Sinn Fein are hoping to derail the Prime Minister's settlement train by fomenting serious disorder this summer.
"I expect there will be renewed attempts to provoke loyalists into violence. The republicans are scared of a democratic settlement."