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Trimble slams likely NI suspension
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Suspending Northern Ireland's power-sharing government over an alleged IRA spy ring would "undermine the democratic process," says its First Minister David Trimble. "To have a situation where the entire administration is suspended and the innocent punished along with the guilty is fundamentally unfair," Trimble told CNN's Walter Rodgers. "If you remove the entire administration, then you're denying everybody in Northern Ireland of their representation, you're undermining the democratic process more clearly." Earlier this week, Trimble gave UK Prime Minister Tony Blair an ultimatum: expel Sinn Fein from the Northern Ireland assembly by early next week, or Trimble and his Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) ministers will leave the power-sharing government. Already, the hardline unionist party, the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), has carried out its threat of withdrawing its two ministers from the Northern Ireland executive. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams is strongly opposed to any move that would exclude his Irish republican party from the assembly. He delivered that message to Blair during talks this week, as well as his argument against suspension of the government. "It would characterise the institutions as being optional extras, as being ad hoc, as being something which is given or taken away, given the ability or inability of Unionism to live with whatever is happening at the moment," Adams said. Police last week made several arrests and confiscated documents from Sinn Fein's offices at Stormont, which allegedly included details of potential IRA targets, ranging from the top British army general in Northern Ireland to rank-and-file prison officers. Three people have been charged with espionage-related offences, including Sinn Fein's head of administration, Denis Donaldson. Sinn Fein is accused of being the political wing of the IRA, an allegation the party denies. "It is clear that government documents have been obtained and are being held by members of Sinn Fein's republican organisation and it ... appears to be part of a widespread espionage element directed partly at their political opponents but also for the purpose of acquiring information that would be of assistance to terrorists," Trimble said. "These people have been... acquiring documents on a considerable scale for months if not years. Now that is extremely serious." The Northern Ireland government looks set to be suspended by Northern Ireland Secretary of State John Reid on Monday after the breakdown in trust sparked by the police raids on Sinn Fein's offices. If that happens, it will be the fourth time Stormont will have been suspended, but is perceived as the worst crisis to have occurred since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. However, Trimble voiced optimism when asked about whether disarming the IRA and fully implementing the peace agreement would happen in the near future. "It may start to happen sooner that people appreciate because the leadership of the republic know and have known for some time that ... sooner or later they're going to have to make an irrevocable choice either in favour of continuing on a terrorist course or committing themselves wholly, unequivocally to democracy," Trimble said. "I actually think there going to take the second, but the sooner they do it the better. "The other course doesn't have a future, terrorism doesn't have a future," he added. "That's part of the reason we had an IRA cease-fire." -- CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley and Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers contributed to this report
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