Ahern urges Trimble to return to peace talks
The Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has telephoned Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble in a bid to coax him back into the peace process.
Last night Mr Trimble urged prime minister Tony Blair to take decisive action on Republican violence, in order to restore credibility to the Northern Ireland political process.
Mr Trimble met with Mr Blair and secretary of state Paul Murphy on Wednesday to discuss ending paramilitary violence, following police reports that the IRA was involved in the false imprisonment of dissident republican Bobby Tohill in Belfast.
The UUP leader is demanding a report on the case from the Independent Monitoring Commission and the suspension of talks pending its publication.
During his 15-minute phone call with Mr Trimble, Mr Ahern tried to persuade him that there was no future in keeping his party out of the peace process.
Mr Trimble withdrew his party from the current review of the Good Friday Agreement this week. He said his party would no longer discuss the peace process with Sinn Fein.
The Northern Irish Office has admitted that the government is disappointed that the UUP has withdrawn from the talks but stated that the review will go ahead.
Mr Trimble called on the Democratic Unionist Party to help isolate Sinn Fein. He also urged the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party to abandon the talks on the review of the Good Friday Agreement until republicans demonstrated they had abandoned violence.
“Think again about whether you want to be part of a process including Sinn Fein, when Sinn Fein are in breach of these very principles of peace and democracy which they say they oppose. I extend that call to the SDLP and the Alliance Party,” he said.
The British and Irish governments and the North’s main parties met on Tuesday at Stormont to discuss the threat to the agreement from paramilitary activity.
Both governments have asked all parties in Northern Ireland to consider the possibility of holding round-table discussions next Tuesday.
The DUP has declared that it will oppose such a move. Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds poured scorn on Mr Trimble’s decision to walk away from negotiations.
“It really is laughable for David Trimble to tell us that he is no longer taking part in the talks yet the very next day he traipses off to Downing Street to speak with the prime minister,” he said.
The DUP is due to attend a meeting in Downing Street on Monday.
The Stormont Assembly in Northern Ireland was suspended in 2002 following allegations of IRA intelligence gathering inside the parliament.
