Mallon, Trimble break off trip for talks

Mr David Trimble and Mr Seamus Mallon are to break off a scheduled four-day visit to France and Germany to go to London today for discussions with Mr Tony Blair. They will leave the Trade Minister, Sir Reg Empey, in charge of the trip, which is promoting investment in Northern Ireland.

Mr Trimble hopes to rejoin the trade mission on Friday.

In an interview with The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Mallon said he would not use the term "optimism" about reaching agreement in the current negotiations.

"There have been indications that a resolution to the four problems [decommissioning, demilitarisation, policing and UUP threats to the institutions] might be obtainable, but I would pitch it no higher than being hopeful . . . Each time any of us becomes optimistic, we are very quickly and in many ways cruelly reminded that things in the past have not worked out.

"It's not just a matter of getting an agreement, important as that is. It's getting the type of agreement that will follow through and deal with the problems and end the uncertainty."

Mr Mallon said the unionist threat to cease participation in the institutions "is the sword of Damocles hanging over the head of the whole process" and must end. "People readily recognise decommissioning as an issue, policing as an issue, normalisation as an issue. That's the other issue which is equally important - we have to end this threat against the institutions, the threat of the nonworking of institutions or suspension of the institutions."

The Paris trip "would have been a lot more enjoyable and a lot easier had things been resolved before we came here". He said it was essential that a collective agreement be reached before the British general election campaign began. On decommissioning, Mr Mallon said the SDLP wanted "to see re-engagement by the IRA with the international commission under Gen de Chastelain. That re-engagement is to be based on how decommissioning will take place, ultimately - and I hope quickly - leading to decommissioning."

Demilitarisation, the removal of military installations and the reduction of British troops, would "obviously go - if it comes - step by step with the process of decommissioning. Normalisation is a more polite form of demilitarisation."

He regretted that "the legislation didn't match the Patten proposals" on reforming the police force. "We've been negotiating now for three months in terms of trying to get the implementation of the legislation to match the Patten recommendations. There are still issues that have to be dealt with, the main ones being the phasing out of the full-time reserve, the assimilation of the Special Branch into the policing service proper under the control of an assistant chief constable, the closing of the last interrogation centre at Gough barracks in Armagh."

What Mr Mallon called "the symbols" - the change of badge, the use of flags and emblems - were another outstanding problem.

"The British position is that it is to be decided by the Secretary of State in discussion with the policing board. The reality is that there will be no agreement: if there was, it would have been got long ago. So it resides with the Secretary of State. That's part of our problem because we want absolute assurances on these issues to make them compatible with Patten."