Mitchell Takes Helm at N. Ireland Peace Talks

American trouble-shooter George Mitchell took his post as chairman of historic Northern Ireland peace talks here Wednesday amid icy silence from Catholic paramilitary groups fighting for unification with Ireland and a civil war of words between pro-British Protestant groups.

Mitchell’s appointment in the small hours Wednesday after more than 15 hours of bitter wrangling left the two main unionist, or pro-British, parties bitterly divided and barely speaking.

The largest, the Ulster Unionist Party, under moderate David Trimble, supported a compromise that saved the conference by allowing delegates to derive rules under which Mitchell and two colleagues, Canadian Gen. John de Chastelain and former Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri, will preside over various strands of the complex talks.

Seven of the nine parties at the talks accepted the compromise, which allows participants to renegotiate initial ground rules set down by Britain and Ireland.

The take-no-prisoners Democratic Unionist Party under hard-line preacher-politician Ian Paisley, as well as a small party allied with his, did not.

“I will dedicate my life to overturning the dastardly deed that was done last night,” Paisley thundered Wednesday.

Paisley fears that internationalization of the Northern Ireland issue will push the six-county British province closer to the Irish Republic.

Paisley opposes Mitchell as Washington’s man, believing that he is inclined toward the view of Irish nationalists. The former Democrat senator from Maine disputes that assessment.

“We assure you that we are motivated solely by a desire to be of help to you and to the people of Northern Ireland,” Mitchell said in a statement. “We will meet our responsibilities in a totally fair and impartial manner.”

On Wednesday, Mitchell said he was pleased “with progress made to date,” although not a lot was apparent to outsiders.

“We believe there is an overwhelming desire for peace and reconciliation among the people of Northern Ireland,” Mitchell said. “We hope that we can in some way contribute to the realization of that desire.”

As soon as he assumed the chair, Mitchell asked each leader of the seven remaining parties to pledge “total and absolute commitment to all the principles of democracy and nonviolence.”

They complied, as did Paisley’s party and a minor splinter party that joined the initial walkout when Mitchell took charge.

Paisley said he and other conservatives will boycott plenary sessions of talks chaired by Mitchell.

But he will attend two key strands of talks, one between the British government and Northern Ireland parties to discuss internal affairs and a second headed by De Chastelain to discuss relations between Northern Ireland and the Irish government.

A third government-to-government strand, between Britain and Ireland, will not involve participants at the peace talks.

Still unclear is whether Mitchell will emerge, as Britain and Ireland intend, as a strong chairman for a fourth and critical piece of discussions designed to win the surrender of weapons by Catholic and Protestant paramilitary bands.

The coming days will offer ample room for jockeying, since the next plenary session is not scheduled until June 19.

Conspicuous by its absence at the incendiary initial rounds of talks that will last for many months is Sinn Fein, the Catholic nationalist party that is the political arm of the outlawed Irish Republican Army.

By agreement between Britain and Ireland, and with the support of virtually all other parties and the United States, Sinn Fein is banned from the talks until the IRA declares a new cease-fire. It broke a 17-month cease-fire in February with a bombing in London.

Some analysts believe that the IRA, which has battled British rule in the province for 25 years, will declare a new truce once it becomes convinced of the seriousness of the negotiations.