THE Irish and British governments are expected to give a positive but low key response to the report of the international body on decommissioning when it is published today. The chairman of the body, Senator George Mitchell, will hold a press conference this morning in Belfast.
The Government's response will be given in the Dail this afternoon during statements by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, the Minister for Justice, Ms Owen, and the Minister for Social Welfare Mr De Rossa. The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, will have left for Strasbourg where he will address the Council of Europe tomorrow.
The report's main emphasis is said to be on winning Sinn Fein consent to confidence building measures which would reassure unionists and remove the need for decommissioning as a precondition for all party political talks. There was optimism in Dublin that the report's method of dealing with the decommissioning impasse would be acceptable to the British government.
After a day of intensive contacts between Dublin and London both governments were said to want to avoid the kind of response to the report which could provoke a negative reaction from Sinn Fein, the IRA and the unionists.
While the Government might have wanted to express its commitment to the report more fully, it is conscious of the sensitivity of the issues raised for both Sinn Fein and the unionists as well as London.
The wisest course is seen as allowing the parties sufficient time to absorb the report without them feeling too influenced by the governments, which are still hoping the all party talks can begin as planned by the end of February.
The two governments will have assessed the situation when Mr Bruton meets the British Prime Minister in mid February, as laid down in the communique following their meeting on November 28th which launched the twin track process.
While there was no official comment by the Government on yesterday's report by the Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times on the decommissioning body's proposals, sources confirmed that the confidence building measures, including full acceptance off the Democratic process by Sinn Fein and the IRA, were the "core" of the report.
The crucial question is whether acceptance of these measures by Sinn Fein would persuade the unionists that a disarmament gesture the so called Washington 3 clause was no longer needed as a precondition for the start of the all party talks.
The British government is believed to be ready to abandon Washington 3 if the proposed measures can generate sufficient confidence among the unionists to enter talks.
The reference in the report to an elected body in Northern Ireland as proposed by the UUP leader Mr David Trimble, could yet cause problems for the Government, the SDLP and Sinn Fein, which have all expressed their opposition to it.
Mr Bruton insisted several times in the Dail yesterday that such a body could only be discussed during all party talks in other words, it could not be the substitute to talks as proposed by Mr Trimble.
However, the Mitchell report's reference to the elected body is said to be carefully phrased and to go along with the Government's insistence that it would have to be within the framework of the all party talks.