OPTIMISM URGED FOR NEW TALKS PROCESS

Posted by Jim on May 11, 2019

Sinn F閕n leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she believes an agreement
can be reached after round-table five-party talks began in Belfast this
week for the first time in more than a year.

The wide-ranging talks were kickstarted as a result of a public outcry
over the death of journalist Lyra McKee during a riot in Derry last
month.

“We need agreement and all-party power-sharing institutions back in
place,” Ms McDonald said. “The two governments are not spectators or
referees in this process, they are co-equal guarantors of the people’s
agreements and rights.”

The last DUP/Sinn F閕n powersharing coalition collapsed in January 2017
when the late Martin McGuinness quit amid allegations of DUP corruption
in a ‘green energy’ scheme. It had followed a long-standing impasse at
Stormont over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of
the conflict. A veto mechanism used by the DUP to block political change
since 2007, known as a petition of concern, is among the issues the
current talks will look at.

It is not yet clear if Sinn F閕n will seek to resurrect a deal which DUP
leader Arlene Foster was understood to have agreed last year. A copy of
the draft deal, which included concessions on both sides, was refuted by
the DUP, triggering the current stalemate.

Ms McDonald said actions of the British government — their deal with
the DUP, Brexit and their refusal to honour their obligations on the
legacy issues of the past — had dogged the process since 2017. She said
she would be raising them directly with the British Prime Minister on
Monday. But she added: “I believe an agreement can be reached and
genuine power-sharing can be established.”

Ms McDonald said her party was ready to “do the business”.

“The current stalemate is not acceptable and not sustainable, there are
outstanding issues that need to be resolved, and we believe they can be
resolved,” she said.

In a joint statement, the Dublin and London governments said party
leaders will meet at least once a week to assess progress, while the
process will be reviewed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British Prime
MInister Theresa May at the end of the month.

The fresh talks do not as yet include an independent chair, which was
previously demanded by nationalists.

The issue of ongoing violence in the North is notably not on the agenda
for the talks, which are focused on restoring the Six-County Assembly at
Stormont. However, the British government separately announced more than
�0m in funding for Derry.  The funds are intended to tackle
“deprivation and youth unemployment”, and are in addition to �0m
already pledged to Belfast.

After the initial discussions, DUP leader Arlene Foster described the
engagement as a “good first meeting”.

“It has to of course be a balanced way forward and one that everyone in
Northern Ireland is comfortable with, whether they are unionist,
nationalist or indeed other � and I think that’s very important,” she
said.

Sinn F閕n urged optimism as the process got underway.

“We will go into these talks with hope and positivity,” Ms McDonald
said. “We will also go in with our eyes wide open, because we have been
to his place before. Whatever happens, we’re very clear that the current
political stalemate cannot continue. It’s simply unacceptable at this
stage.

“In the event that we cannot resolve the equality issues, that the DUP
cannot join with us to hard-wire equality into the system of governance
. . . in those circumstances then the two governments will have to
intervene,” Ms McDonald said.

Sinn F閕n negotiator Conor Murphy said his party would expect delivery
of assurances it received last year that the British government would
pass the necessary legislation if Stormont failed to do so.

But Mr Murphy’s idea that if the five-party talks fail, the Tories
should directly legislate for nationalist demands was described as
“running to Westminster” by newly elected Aont� councillor in Derry, Dr
Anne McCloskey.

“For a republican, who avows that the British government should not by
right have any authority in this country… to boast that his [British
friends] will keep him and his party sweet on this or any other issue is
Alice in Wonderland stuff,” she said.