DATE=2/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=NORTHERN IRELAND (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258803
BYLINE=LOURDES NAVARRO
DATELINE=LONDON
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The British government has announced plans to
strip power from Northern Ireland's eight-week-old
Protestant - Catholic joint administration. The
announcement was made after an independent report said
the Irish Republican Army (I-R-A) has not handed in
its weapons as required by the Northern Ireland peace
accord. Lourdes Navarro reports from London.
TEXT: Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter
Mandelson, said that while he did not want to take a
step that could potentially destroy Northern Ireland's
peace process, the failure of the I-R-A to disarm was
unacceptable.
In a statement made to Britain's lower house of
parliament, Mr. Mandelson said that he will be putting
through legislation that will allow him to suspend
Northern Ireland's power sharing assembly.
The process will take several days and Mr. Mandelson
made it clear that he was still hoping that there
could be a breakthrough. However, if no compromise
could be reached, he said he was prepared to suspend
Northern Ireland's fledgling government.
/// MANDELSON ACT ///
If it becomes clear that because of a lack of
confidence the institutions cannot be sustained,
the government has to be ready to put on hold
the operation of those institutions. Nobody
genuinely committed to the peace process will
relish this prospect. But our purpose, if it
comes to this, will be to preserve them from
collapse.
/// END ACT///
The statement was in response to the findings of an
international commission's report that showed that the
I-R-A has failed to begin to hand in its weapons. So
far, the report by Canadian general John de Chastelain
has not been released to the public.
Disarmament is the last remaining issue yet unresolved
from Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord called the
Good Friday Agreement.
Northern Ireland's biggest Protestant party, the
Ulster Unionists, are demanding that the power-sharing
government be suspended. Last November, it agreed to
sit in government with the I-R-A - linked Sinn Fein on
the condition that the I-R-A would disarm.
Mr. Mandelson has made it clear that the I-R-A's
refusal to begin to disarm, also called
decommissioning, has caused the crisis. However, he
stressed that all may not yet be lost if they set a
date to hand in their weapons.
/// MANDELSON ACT ///
Even at this late stage, I believe it remains
possible to rebuild confidence in the
institutions, to enable devolution, and to
insure that decommissioning starts. But I
stress these three things are interdependent.
We cannot partially implement the Good Friday
agreement. It is all or nothing.
/// END ACT ///
If Northern Ireland's assembly is suspended, then
Britain will take over control of the province again.
The British and Irish governments are holding high-
level talks to see if they can broker another last
minute deal to insure that will not happen. (Signed)
NEB/LN/ENE/JP
03-Feb-2000 17:22 PM EDT (03-Feb-2000 2222 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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