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N Ireland peace talks show little progress

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, left, and his British counterpart Tony Blair speak outside England's Leeds Castle on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP

Talks to kick-start the peace process in Northern Ireland dragged late into the night on Friday, with all sides due to return to the negotiating table yesterday, officials said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern have been chairing the talks to overcome a deadlock between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

"Progress is being made. That's why the prime ministers are still here," a British official said at Leeds Castle in southeast England, the venue for the talks.

Power-sharing in Northern Ireland was enshrined in the Good Friday accords of 1998 that ended three decades of bloodshed, but it was suspended in October 2002 in a breakdown of confidence between Protestant and Catholic parties.

In contrast to a mood of guarded optimism at the start of the talks on Thursday, DUP and Sinn Fein officials sounded downbeat Friday as they broke for the night.

"Major issues remain unresolved on paramilitarism, criminality, police and justice and decommissioning," one DUP official said, referring to his party's core demand for the IRA to disarm and disband.

Sinn Fein delegates left Leeds Castle concluding that a deal was not possible in the present circumstan-ces, while an Irish source said the DUP, after meeting with Blair, had "raised the bar out of sight."

Ian Paisley Jr, the son and namesake of the militant DUP leader, said: "There are difficulties on all issues."

Both the DUP and Sinn Fein let it be known earlier on Friday that they would not compromise on key issues in order to restore the political power-sharing created by the Good Friday agreement.

"A lot of areas remain without progress," said DUP legislator Gregory Campbell.

Pat Doherty, deputy leader of Sinn Fein, said: "I remain generally optimistic [that] a deal can be done." But he added: "We're not here to surrender the fundamentals of the Good Friday agreement."

Success hinges on whether the IRA -- currently maintaining an indefinite ceasefire -- will turn in all its weapons and declare an end to its decades-long armed struggle.

Sinn Fein wants implementation of the Good Friday deal, which would see it share power in the Northern Ireland's assembly and executive with the DUP.

Blair has called this week's talks a "moment of decision" and warned that after two failed attempts in as many years, he would not repeat the effort again.

Despite the political deadlock, the Good Friday accords have largely ended the violence that killed nearly 3,300 people and injured more than 36,000 over three decades.
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