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| TROUBLED PEACE | |
 July 15, 1999 
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The Northern Ireland peace process encountered its most tenous point today, just as the peace brokers were receiving honors from the royal family. Elizabeth Farnsworth explains in this background report, followed by a discussion between the Ulster Unionist and Sinn Fein parties.
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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: On Good Friday last GEORGE MITCHELL: This agreement is good for the people of Ireland, North and South.
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| IRA disarmament | ||||||||||||||||||||
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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: In response, Gerry Adams called on Trimble to resign his position as first minister of the new assembly. |
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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: In Britain today, the men who brokered last year's peace agreement were honored by Queen Elizabeth. It was meant to be a day of celebration, but instead was the day their hard-won achievement fell apart. GEORGE MITCHELL: Well, it's is a day of irony. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: British and Irish officials say they will meet next week to plan a summit with Northern Ireland's key parties to review and perhaps salvage the breakdown of the peace process. |
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year,
most of Northern Ireland's leaders reached an agreement designed to
end 30 years of bloody conflict between Protestants and Catholics in
the British province. 
ELIZABETH
FARNSWORTH: The deal, reached with the help of American mediator George
Mitchell, called for power sharing between Protestants -- often called
loyalists or unionists for their loyalty to continued union with Britain
-- and Catholics -- also known as Nationalists or Republicans for their
desire to become one with the Irish Republic to the South. The accord
mapped out a new elected Protestant-Catholic Assembly, and a cabinet
called the Executive. Election by the assembly of the cabinet, which
was scheduled to happen today, would have provided for self-rule for
Northern Ireland for the first time since 1972. But implementation of
the agreement has foundered on one crucial issue: When and how paramilitary
groups on both sides would give up their arms. The accord set a May
2000 deadline for the so-called decommissioning of weapons, but it gave
no deadline for beginning the process. The IRA refused to begin decommissioning
its arsenal, and Gerry Adams, leader of the IRA's political wing, Sinn
Fein, said he was unable to force the guerrilla organization to do so,
since his Sinn Fein doesn't represent the whole IRA. 
And
without actual IRA disarmament, Protestant Unionist Leader David Trimble
said he would not join Sinn Fein in government. In spite of last-minute
negotiations this week led by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the
peace process definitively fell apart today when Trimble and his 28-strong
team announced their decision to stay away from a meeting of the assembly,
which was to nominate the self-rule cabinet. 
DAVID
TRIMBLE, Ulster Unionist Party: And I want specifically to address Sinn
Fein at this point. We know that you are a part of this process. We
know that your involvement is necessary for a successful outcome. But
you must know that it won't work unless you address the issue of peace
and weapons. 
GERRY
ADAMS, Sinn Fein: I think that Mr. Trimble's position is untenable.
He should step down, or the British prime minister should stand him
down. 
Obviously,
when this day was set many months ago, no one could have foreseen that
it would be a day that the process encountered this difficulty in Northern
Ireland. So we're obviously deeply grateful for the honor, but wish
it were under more happy circumstances in Northern Ireland. 