<HTML><PRE>Subj:	Fwd: News 01/05/98 0717 CST - Unionist Seek Talks with Prisoners
Date:	98-01-05 08:41:47 EST
From:	Buni1957
To:	DeeMcA, RedAxe66, Love irela, Connemara7
To:	FenianBoyo, JustaLocal
CC:	sean@cafes.net


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Forwarded Message: 
Subj:	 News 01/05/98 0717 CST - Unionist Seek Talks with Prisoners
Date:	98-01-05 08:23:36 EST
From:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Jay Dooling)
Sender:	owner-ireland_list@email.rutgers.edu
Reply-to:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net
To:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Ireland News)


News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish

RT 01/05/98 06:58 Britain In Talks To Ease N.Irish Tension
PA 01/05/98 06:52 Unionists Seek Talks With Prisoners On Peace Threat
RT 01/05/98 05:41 Finland Says Ready To Host N.Ireland Talks

                 ******************************

		Britain In Talks To Ease N.Irish Tension

RTw  01/05/98 06:58   

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd
 
    By Martin Cowley  

     BELFAST, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Britain held talks with Northern 
Ireland's polarised politicians on Monday in a bid to stop the rot in 
the province's flagging peace process.

     After three guerrilla killings in a week and growing political 
acrimony, Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam was having separate 
discussions with a range of pro-British Protestant and pro-Irish 
Catholic parties.

     Peace hopes were cast further into gloom late Sunday when jailed 
guerrillas of two Protestant "loyalist" groups ditched long-standing 
support for round-table all party talks that are being sponsored by 
London and Dublin.

     Ceasefires operated by loyalist militias and their main foe, the 
Irish Republican Army, were continuing to operate but security 
analysts said further violence by dissident groups could drag in the 
main organisations.

     A Catholic victim of the violent upsurge was buried as Mowlam 
began her meetings.

     Edward Trainor was killed when the renegade Loyalist Volunteer 
Force (LVF) sprayed customers having a New Year's eve drink at a bar 
in Catholic north Belfast.

     Five others were wounded in what was an LVF bid to avenge the 
December 27 assassination of its leader Billy Wright by members of the 
Irish National Liberation Army, a left-wing Catholic extremist group.

     The LVF and INLA are bitterly opposed to the current peace 
process and politicians said their violence was aimed at smashing it.

     Wright's murder and the LVF's killing soon afterwards of a 
Catholic, Seamus Dillon, threw the slow-moving peace process into 
disarray.

     Mowlam has described the situation as serious but not out of 
control. She has urged politicians to put their trust in negotiations 
that London and Dublin hope will produce a settlement by May.

     "The Secretary of State (Mowlam) wants to talk to each of the 
parties about the current state of things and gather their views," an 
official said ahead of Monday's talks, that started with a session 
with one of her chief critics, hardline pro-British leader Ian 
Paisley.

     Although a die-hard supporter of rule from London, Paisley and 
other mainstream Protestant unionist politicians are highly critical 
of the British government's handling of the fragile peace process.

     Paisley is boycotting the multi-party talks attended by  the 
biggest unionist party, the Ulster Unionists (UUP), because he 
believes they will result in a cave-in to republican demands for an 
all-Ireland republic.

     UUP leaders have called for Mowlam's resignation and were on 
their way to London on Monday for a meeting with Prime Minister Tony 
Blair.

     Protestant politicians accuse Britain of showing favouritism to 
Catholic republicans to ensure that a seven- month IRA ceasefire 
remains intact.

     Austria and Finland have extended an open invitation to host 
Northern Irish peace talks on neutral ground, the Irish prime 
minister's office said on Monday.

     "There is nothing in writing, but Austria and Finland have 
offered to host the talks. As far as I understand the invitations are 
open-ended," said a spokeswoman for premier Bertie Ahern.

     Paisley rejected the offer, saying: "The internationalising of 
these talks will be their estruction." REUTERS

                 ******************************

	  Unionists Seek Talks With Prisoners On Peace Threat

PA   01/05/98 06:52   

Copyright 1998 PA News

  By Deric Henderson, PA News

   Ulster Unionists are seeking talks with loyalist prisoners to 
discuss the troubled Northern Ireland peace process, deputy leader 
John Taylor said today.

   As Secretary of State Mo Mowlam held discussions in Belfast with 
all sides on the future of the Government's negotiations, 
representatives of the province's largest party confirmed a decision 
to assess the mood and attitude of paramilitaries inside the top 
security Maze prison.

   Mr Taylor, who travelled to London today with his leader David 
Trimble for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, said: "I'm keen we 
should see them, because it's quite clear the whole question of 
paramilitary prisoners is being mishandled by the Government."

   A majority of loyalist UDA and UFF prisoners at the Maze have voted 
to withhold their support for the peace process because of what they 
claim is London and Dublin's one-sided approach which favours Sinn 
Fein. But they are still supporting the loyalist ceasefire of October 
1994.

   Mr Taylor, the MP for Strangford, told PA News: "They are creating 
an impression of imbalance which is breeding discontent and 
destabilising the political process.

   "There is the added problem of the unusual circumstances at the 
Maze which is causing great concern to the Ulster Unionist Party and I 
think it's important we meet with the paramilitaries at the earliest 
opportunity."

   All-party talks on the future of Northern Ireland are due to begin 
again next Monday, but because of the deepening security crisis and 
growing unease and disillusionment among Unionists and loyalists the 
process is in trouble.

   Although nothing significant is expected to emerge from today's 
informal talks at Stormont, Ms Mowlam could also have difficulty 
persuading political representatives of the loyalist paramilitary UVF 
in the Progressive Unionist Party to return to the negotiating table.

   The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party is already 
boycotting the process and even though he was the first to meet the 
Ulster Secretary today, he insisted he would not be returning.

   He said: "We need honesty, but she is working to a republican 
agenda."

   Ms Mowlam held her meetings as the funeral took place of the latest 
murder victim. Eddie Treanor, 31, was gunned down when loyalist gunmen 
opened fire on New Year's Eve customers inside the Clifton Tavern, 
north Belfast in a second revenge attack for the INLA murder of LVF 
leader Billy Wright.

   Police have intensified surveillance of bars, clubs and hotels in 
several Catholic areas of Northern Ireland because of threats of more 
reprisal shootings.

   Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, said: "The process 
is in considerable difficulty and trouble, but people should not 
despair."

   Mr Seamus Close, deputy leader of the non-sectarian Alliance Party, 
said the process must continue. It cannot be held to ransom by 
prisoners."
---- 

   Downing Street said Mr Blair had spoken to Ms Mowlam about the 
situation in the province on several occasions while he was away on 
holiday.

   The Prime Minister's official spokesman said today's meeting with 
Mr Trimble and Mr Taylor was the latest in a series Mr Blair had held 
with the leaders of the main parties in the province. He would see 
others as and when it was possible.

   "He (Mr Blair) wants to do what he can to give impetus to the 
process," said the spokesman.

   "He thinks we have come an awful long way in a pretty short time. 
He has always been realistic about the difficulties along the way, but 
he still believes there are grounds to be cautiously optimistic."

   Although not everything was going as the Government might wish, 
there were encouraging signs, particularly concerning the willingness 
of parties to participate in the talks.

   The spokesman rejected allegations that the Government had been too 
accommodating to the Republican side. "We have and continue to be 
even-handed," he said.

   And he reiterated that the Prime Minister was fully behind Mo 
Mowlam's efforts, saying: "He thinks Mo is doing an extremely good job 
in difficult circumstances."

   He said Mr Blair spoke by telephone to Irish Prime Minister Bertie 
Ahern on a regular basis, and had seen him most recently shortly 
before Christmas, following a Newcastle versus Manchester Utd football 
game. 

                 ******************************

		   Finland Says Ready To Host N.Ireland Talks

RTw  01/05/98 05:41   

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd
 
    HELSINKI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Finland is ready to host Northern 
Ireland peace talks, but is not pushing itself forward as a mediator, 
a foreign ministry official said on Monday.

     "Of course we are ready (to host talks) if the parties to the 
talks would consider it helpful," said Pertti Torstila, head of the 
political department at the Finnish foreign ministry.

     Finland has been mentioned alongside Austria as possible neutral 
ground for talks trying to end almost 30 years of bloodshed between 
minority Roman Catholics and majority Protestants in the British-ruled 
province.

     Before Christmas, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had mentioned 
the possibility of moving the talks to neutral ground, and Irish 
newspapers had picked up the thread, Torstila said.

     "Time is running short for completion of the talks by the 
original deadline of mid-April," Torstila added.

     The all-party peace talks started last September, but their 
progress has been slowed by new violence. 
REUTERS
-------
Jay Dooling (jdooling@worldnet.att.net)
Irish Aires - 90.1FM KPFT in Houston
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Irish_Aires/homepage.htm
Dooling & Mabe, CPA 
http://www.doolingmabe-cpa.com/
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