Britain Sets N. Ireland Election Date-&-Trimble rejects (election on hold) [View All]

[papau]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3291179,00.html

Britain Sets N. Ireland Election Date

Tuesday October 21, 2003 5:01 PM
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - Breaking a yearlong deadlock, Britain set an election date in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republican Army swiftly responded Tuesday by disposing of more weapons.

In a day of carefully choreographed announcements, Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said the long-delayed elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly would be held Nov. 26. That could pave the way for restoration of a Catholic-Protestant administration for the British province.

The IRA followed that up with an announcement that it had ``decommissioned'' weapons for the third time, but offered no detail on the volume of weaponry discarded, nor on its method of disposal.
John de Chastelain, the retired Canadian general overseeing disarmament in Northern Ireland, confirmed that the IRA disposed of light, medium and heavy weapons, ammunition and explosives. He did not give specifics about the amount, but said it was ``considerably larger'' than the a previous IRA move to disarm. <snip>

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,9061,1067604,00.html

Trimble rejects IRA move
Matthew Tempest and agencies
Tuesday October 21, 2003

The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, tonight rejected today's decommissioning move by the IRA, saying the process towards new elections at Stormont was now "on hold".

Although Downing Street today announced fresh elections to the Northern Ireland assembly for November 26, and the IRA was confirmed as having made its largest ever arms dump, Mr Trimble's move now throws the whole process back into turmoil.

The British prime minister, Tony Blair, and the Irish taoseach, Bertie Ahern, are in Belfast but a statement from the two men has been delayed.

Speaking after statements from both Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fén president, and the head of the decommissioning body, General John de Chasterlain, Mr Trimble said he did not have "the necessary confidence" to give his potential support to elections which could lead to him power-sharing with Sinn Féin. Although he took pains to praise Gerry Adams' position as "encouraging", the UUP leader said he would now call a special conference of the party next Wednesday to discuss their next move. Mr Trimble does not have a legal veto on the elections, but having walked out of power-sharing agreements before, it is vital for some compromise which allows his party and Sinn Féin to cooperate, if they become the two largest parties in the devolved assembly. <snip>

Internal critics of David Trimble have suggested the Ulster Unionists could go into a November assembly election badly divided, with the party facing the awkward problem of whether it could house among its field of candidates two of the three rebel MPs who have angered their leadership by resigning the party whip.