Review of deal likely for Jan. 29

Meanwhile, the international body given powers to recommend the exclusion of Sinn Fein from any future power-sharing executive has come into being, much to the disgust of republicans, who have branded it “undemocratic.” Its members are Richard Kerr, a former deputy director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency; Commander John Grieve, former head of the London Metropolitan Police’s anti-terrorist squad; Lord John Alderdice, the former presiding officer of the Assembly, and a retired former secretary of the Irish Department of Justice, Joe Brosnan.
On the party political front, Ulster Unionists are still blaming the IRA for the political crisis, the DUP is demanding an entirely new agreement, the SDLP is blaming both unionists and republicans, while Sinn Fein is arguing for the immediate restoration of devolved government.
This week, the parties are being asked by the British government for their opinions on the review. A government spokesman said: “During the course of the week, [British Northern Secretary] Paul Murphy will be meeting the parties to discuss their submissions post the election and pre the review.”
Last week, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appeared to confirm claims from sources in Belfast and Dublin that the review would begin on Jan. 29, but no fixed date has been made public.
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said there was “more than a hint of desperation” in the way the political process is being handled by the Northern Ireland Office. He added that there is the suspicion the review had been ordered, not to fill a vacuum created by the election result, but because of the alleged continued activity of paramilitaries, in particular the IRA.
“The problem is not the DUP’s election victory but the inability or unwillingness of paramilitary-related parties to commit themselves fully to the democratic process,” he said. “The reason we do not have an Assembly is not because of some fatal flaw in the institutions — though they are capable of improvement and reform — but because we have not had acts of completion by the paramilitaries, most notably the IRA.”
In stark contrast, the Sinn Fein national chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, said the focus of the review has to be on the failure of the two governments to fully implement the agreement.
“Sinn Fein believes that the review should be time limited to one month and its conclusions should be published promptly,” he said. “It must address the suspension of the political institutions, the human rights and equality agenda, including victims, demilitarization, the issue of arms, policing and justice, and prisoners.”
In stark contrast, the DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson, said the other parties had to “wake up to the reality that Northern Ireland needs a new agreement.
“The agreement, and the devolved institutions it generated, were doomed to fail,” he said, accusing the UUP, Sinn Fein and the SDLP of “continuing to cling to its remnants like a comfort blanket.”