Trimble urged to withdraw Sinn Fein sanctions

Trimble's party says weapons inspections are a sham

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -- Northern Ireland's First Minister David Trimble has come under renewed pressure to withdraw the sanctions he imposed on republican political party Sinn Fein.

The latest crisis to hit the province's peace process pits Trimble, who also leads the Protestant-backed Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), against Sinn Fein and the Roman Catholic, moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Seamus Mallon, SDLP deputy leader and the province's deputy first minister, said the political sanctions, which prevent Sinn Fein ministers from attending meetings of an All-Ireland Ministerial Council, struck at the heart of the peace process.

"In the Good Friday Agreement it was specifically laid out that the functioning of the Assembly and the North-South Ministerial Council are so closely related that the success of each depends on that of the other," Mallon said in a statement on Friday.

"We must find a way through these difficulties," he added, saying Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson should consider intervening "before the crisis deepens."

The North-South council was set up to encourage co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as part of the landmark Good Friday Agreement, which also established a power-sharing executive.

The UUP voted last week to ban Sinn Fein ministers from participating in North-South meetings until the IRA reengaged with an independent disarmament body.

Despite Trimble's ban, Sinn Fein's Bairbre de Brun, Northern Ireland's health minister, met her Republic of Ireland counterpart, Micheal Martin, outside the auspices of the council.

Mallon attended the start of the de Brun-Martin meeting to protest against Trimble's sanctions.

The UUP said the meeting was nothing more than a "face-saving exercise."

International arms inspectors said on Thursday they were satisfied that IRA guerrillas were committed to the peace process.

It has allowed the inspectors to inspect weapons' dumps on two occasions as a "confidence building measure" designed to allay Protestant fears about IRA weapons.

But Protestant leaders say the IRA is failing to render its weapons harmless and are undermining the peace process.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Ulster Unionist Party
Sinn Fein
Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Office

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