British Proposal Seeks to Boost N. Ireland Talks

In an effort to kick-start the lagging peace talks in Northern Ireland, Britain on Friday put forward new proposals for the embattled province.

Sir Patrick Mayhew, Britain’s Northern Ireland secretary, said his government will free hundreds of prisoners, allowing them to serve only half of their sentences, not at least two-thirds as is the usual case. As a result, as many as 100 republican and unionist terrorists could be released this year and as many as 300 next year. He also promised that more British troops will be transferred out of Northern Ireland if the cease-fire there holds.

The cease-fire between republican and unionist paramilitary groups took effect Sept. 1, 1994, and no significant violations have occurred. But the all-party peace talks launched as a result have been snagged. The British government has refused to allow Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, to come to the table until the IRA makes some move in handing in weapons.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams says he cannot order the IRA to turn over arms, a move he characterized as a surrender. The Irish government in Dublin has criticized the British for allowing the issue of weapons “decommissioning” to delay progress on the peace talks.

In a speech in Belfast, Mayhew declared that the cease-fire and the peace process had already brought “a huge change for the better” in Northern Ireland. “Having come so far, against so many odds, in the face of such difficult obstacles, there will be no change of heart,” he said. “We shall not abandon the search for progress.”

His announcement was generally well-received in Dublin, where Irish government irritation has been growing over what is perceived as British nit-picking in getting Sinn Fein to the talks.

But in Belfast, the main unionist parties were unimpressed by Mayhew’s speech and declared it will not save the peace or move the talks forward.

*

Ken Maginnis, an Ulster Unionist Party member of Parliament and a moderate, said Mayhew’s remarks were only gestures.

“Already, one can see signs that the IRA-Sinn Fein are digging up the goal posts, intent on moving them once again, and the government will find itself no further forward a week from today than it is today,” he said. “It is absolute folly to expect parties like the Ulster Unionists to be proactive and respond constructively when the government appears to be staggering from one accommodation to the next without any structure to its entire program.”

Sammy Wilson, a former Belfast mayor and a unionist militant, added, “It is a slap in the face for victims’ relatives while terrorists are being taken by the hand.”

Ian Paisley Jr., a member of the Democratic Unionist Party led by his father, the Rev. Ian Paisley, added regarding Friday’s announcement: “It is a sordid and grubby little stunt from the British government, which will keep their peace process in place and intact for another short period.”