I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 17, 22, 24, 26, 29, 38, 43, 46, 59 and 72 together.
As I said to this House on the day of its publication, the Government accepts the report of the international body without reservation. It is lucid, authoritative and balanced. Adherence on all sides to the six principles of democracy and non-violence set out in the report, together with the approach it recommends to the decommissioning question, offers a fair and reasonable basis on which all parties could move into substantive negotiations confident that all present were committed to exclusively peaceful means and to abiding by the democratic process. This would undoubtedly reinforce our firm aim of achieving the launch of such negotiations by the end of this month.
The Taoiseach and I have made clear, in this House and elsewhere, our disappointment at the response of the British Government to the report. I agree that the stress placed by the British Government on the report's very conditional and qualified reference to an elective process has distracted attention from the central thrust of its recommendations on finding a way out of the present impasse on decommissioning.
At the meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference held in London on Thursday 1 February, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I reviewed developments in the twin-track approach. We considered the report of the international body and how it could assist us in bringing all parties to the negotiating table. We had an open, honest and constructive discussion of the differences in our approaches to the report.
I made clear that the credibility of our commitment to the goals set out in the communiqué required a significant intensification of the political track. This intensification was accepted in principle by the British Government and we shall be reviewing at our resumed conference tomorrow the most appropriate way to achieve this, with the urgency we believe is required.
In the preparatory talks we will continue to seek, as we have from the beginning of the twin-track process, widespread agreement on the basis, participation, structure, format and agenda to bring all parties together for substantive negotiations. The report of the international body will be specifically addressed in the talks, with a view to reaching agreement on how its finding might best be used in assisting the launch of all-party negotiations. We will also continue to consider, as outlined in the communiqué of 28 November, whether and how an elected body or elective process could play a part in an interlocking three-stranded process of comprehensive negotiations involving both Governments and all the relevant Northern Ireland parties.
In my discussions with the Secretary of State and also with the Northern parties, the question of whether an elective process has a role to play in the launch of all-party negotiations has been considered, as provided for in the November communiqué. I have made the position of the Government on the question clear.
Our view is that the report of the international body by itself offers a sufficient basis for the entry to all-party negotiations. There are serious doubts about the value of elections in the present context and justifiable fears that they are potentially polarising. It is evident that at present the Northern parties are divided on the issue and it is the parties who would be called on to participate in such elections who must have the final say.
It is also clear that only if an elective process were to meet the criteria set out in paragraph 56 of the Mitchell report — that it be broadly acceptable, with an appropriate mandate, and within the three-stranded structure — could it be considered to have a possible role to play. It would be absolutely essential that the mandate of an elective process involve an immediate move into all-party negotiations without further preconditions. I am not aware of any proposal so far which would meet the criteria set out by the international body.
These issues should be debated among the parties and with the Governments in preparatory talks. There is an onus on those who advocate elections to prove to those who strongly hold the opposite view that their concerns can be met. Obviously, a refusal on the part of some to enter into dialogue on this issue does nothing to build confidence in the motivation behind the elective approach, or to secure the "broad acceptance" of the idea which will inevitably be needed if it is ever to be implemented. As I have said, we are ready to discuss the issue, and have already done so with those parties which have taken part in the preparatory talks.
These talks were launched on 1 December last, when the Secretary of State and I wrote in similar terms to the UUP, the DUP, the SDLP, Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party, the PUP, the UDP, The Workers' Party and to Robert McCartney, MP, inviting them to preparatory talks as described in the November communiqué. The Government has subsequently had bilateral meetings with the SDLP, Sinn Féin and The Workers' Party, and together with the British Government, trilateral meetings with the Alliance Party, the SDLP and Sinn Féin. Having met the SDLP again last night, this evening we are to meet Sinn Féin once more and, for the first time since the launch of the twin track process, the PUP. A table setting out the dates of meetings is attached.
No formal replies have been received from the DUP, the UDP or from Robert McCartney, MP. Further contact at official level has not yet led to any change in their apparent reluctance to meet the Government.
The leader of the UUP replied to my initial letter, following which we had a further exchange of correspondence. As the House is aware, this correspondence was, regrettably, published in the media without prior consultation with me. There are evident points of disagreement between us, which I believe can be cleared up only by face-to-face contact. I have made a particular effort over recent days to seek to arrange a meeting with Mr. Trimble before we both depart for Washington. I took the initiative of telephoning him personally with a range of options and subsequently offered to travel to London for a meeting if that proved convenient for him. Unfortunately, it did not prove possible to come up with a proposal which suited Mr. Trimble.
I very much hope that it will be possible to arrange a meeting in the near future so that we can discuss the process of seeking agreement on how to move to all-party negotiations. Nobody has anything to fear from dialogue, and we all have much to gain in terms of enhanced mutual trust and confidence. There is a responsibility on all political leaders to do their utmost to underpin the present cessation of violence with an agreed settlement and to ensure that the mistakes and horrors of the past are never repeated. I believe that responsibility should be taken seriously on all sides.
Calendar of Government Meetings Since Launch of Twin Track Process.
Government bilateral meetings with Northern Parties
7 December 1995: Government meeting with Alliance (arranged prior to 28 November).
18 December 1995: Government meeting with Sinn Féin.
19 December 1995: Government meeting with SDLP.
12 January 1996: Government meeting with The Workers' Party.
5 February 1996: Government meeting with SDLP.
6 February 1996: Government meeting with Sinn Féin.
6 February 1996: Government meeting with PUP.
Trilateral Meetings between Governments and Parties
20 December 1995: Joint Governmental meeting with Alliance.
15 January 1996: Joint Governmental meeting with SDLP.
17 January 1996: Joint Governmental meeting with Sinn Féin.