1 July 1999 Edition
Governments must act
The breakdown of talks at Castle Buildings in Stormont highlights two clear points. Firstly, the Ulster Unionists did not enter these negotiations in good faith and had no intention of trying to achieve a compromise to save the Agreement.
Secondly, the onus is now clearly on the governments, and on Tony Blair's government in particular, to take a lead. Despite the refusal of unionists to move forward into the new institutions, the other elements of the Agreement need to be implemented.
The position paper on the opposite page shows the extent to which Sinn Féin would have been willing to move, within the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, to try to unblock the process in return for the full implementation of the Agreement - which a vast majority of Irish men and women approved last year by referenda.
Sinn Féin made repeated overtures to the unionists throughout the talks, but all these attempts foundered on the rock of unionist intransigence, the same rock that has sought since the foundation of the Six-County state to maintain the status quo.
Sinn Féin recognises its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. While the party made what other participants at the talks acknowledged was a substantial effort to accommodate the demands of unionism, the Ulster Unionists instead chose to play the old Orange card and act in their own party-political interests.
Tony Blair is now left with the same unionist-inspired deadlock that existed before he decided to allow talks to proceed beyond his own deadline of midnight on Wednesday.
If the process is to retain any credibility, he and Bertie Ahern must now act decisively to rescue the Agreement.
Secondly, the onus is now clearly on the governments, and on Tony Blair's government in particular, to take a lead. Despite the refusal of unionists to move forward into the new institutions, the other elements of the Agreement need to be implemented.
The position paper on the opposite page shows the extent to which Sinn Féin would have been willing to move, within the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, to try to unblock the process in return for the full implementation of the Agreement - which a vast majority of Irish men and women approved last year by referenda.
Sinn Féin made repeated overtures to the unionists throughout the talks, but all these attempts foundered on the rock of unionist intransigence, the same rock that has sought since the foundation of the Six-County state to maintain the status quo.
Sinn Féin recognises its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. While the party made what other participants at the talks acknowledged was a substantial effort to accommodate the demands of unionism, the Ulster Unionists instead chose to play the old Orange card and act in their own party-political interests.
Tony Blair is now left with the same unionist-inspired deadlock that existed before he decided to allow talks to proceed beyond his own deadline of midnight on Wednesday.
If the process is to retain any credibility, he and Bertie Ahern must now act decisively to rescue the Agreement.