Two key parties in Northern Ireland's peace process hoped yesterday to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough after the main Protestant party rejected the latest disarmament move by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
British Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to stay in touch with the parties in hopes of resolving what his official spokesman called a "slightly absurd" situation.
Believing they had a deal to pave the way to restoring a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, the British government on Tuesday announced that elections would be held on Nov. 26. The IRA then announced that, for the third time, it had given up part of its arsenal.
But the choreography broke down when David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, complained that the IRA had barred a "transparent report of major acts of decommissioning."
Instead, John de Chastelain, who is in charge of Northern Ireland's glacial disarmament process, was limited to saying that the IRA gave up a substantial quantity of arms which was "considerably larger" than the previous move in April last year.
"We'll be meeting the unionists today, this issue has to be settled between us," said Mitchel McLaughlin, chairman of Sinn Fein, the political party allied to the IRA.
McLaughlin urged Blair to assure skeptical Protestants that the IRA had "fully and completely complied" with the agreement worked out in months of negotiations.
"If the two governments and the international experts are saying that the IRA are complying, that they have made three significant initiatives in that direction, then there's a basis. Given that we don't exactly trust each other, it certainly is a basis for continuing the process," McLaughlin said in an interview with BBC radio.
Blair's official spokesman said yesterday that "good progress" had been made, noting the IRA's latest disarmament move.
"People do have different concerns. One of the concerns of the republican movement is that it does not want to feel humiliated. We understand their concerns," the spokesman told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"Equally we recognize the need for clarity. We do recognize the need for the unionist leadership to explain to its electorate just how much progress has been made in terms they understand."
Blair and Irish Prime Minster Bertie Ahern had flown to Northern Ireland Tuesday, expecting to seal an agreement. But, once again, mutual suspicions had stalled progress.
"Yes, the election's going ahead, but we want it in a positive atmosphere," said Blair, who expressed hope that lower-level negotiations this week in Belfast could solve the problems.
De Chastelain, a retired Canadian general, confirmed that the IRA had allowed him to inventory and "decommission" a cache of automatic rifles, explosives and other weapons Tuesday. But at the IRA's insistence, he gave no details.
Trimble -- whose party is essential in reviving power-sharing -- lambasted the IRA for keeping details maddeningly vague.
"We had made it very clear to the governments and General de Chastelain that what we needed was a transparent report of major acts of decommissioning," said Trimble.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from