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British, Irish prime ministers fly to Belfast in effort to defuse political crisis

By
DONAL THORNTON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, January 25, 2010, 11:58 AM
Updated Monday, January 25, 2010, 12:15 PM

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his counterpart from Ireland, Brian Cowen, have flown to Belfast in an effort to rescue the Northern Irish peace process from collapse.

Both men agreed after a meeting in London to travel to the North to mediate talks between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party, which share power there.

The power-sharing government is on the verge of collapse because the issue of devolving policing and justice matters to the North have not taken place, which Sinn Fein says they were promised.

There was an emergency  one-hour meeting between  Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the Northern Ireland First Minster Peter Robinson today, but none of the outstanding issues were resolved.

In return for the devolution of policing and justice, the DUP want the Parades Commission abolished. The Parades Commission has forced Orange marches to reroute from Catholic neighborhoods, most notably in Drumcree, near Portadown, where a hugely controversial march has been banned.

Sinn Fein has made it clear that they will not agree to the complete abolition of the Parades Commission, but they appear willing to make a compromise if justice and policing is devolved.

"Martin McGuinness put it very clearly that there must be movement on policing and justice without the added DUP precondition on parades," senior political sources told the Irish Times.

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5 Comments

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plasticpaddy | Jan 25, 2010, 10:56 PM EST
sorry watchman, and this is not so much my opinion as my playing devils advocate, but without Irish American investment in the country and their involvement in the peace process and forcing their own political leaders (Bill Clinton) via Irish Americas political clout, their would be no peace in Ireland today.Rebelforces point below is perfectly appropriate. The Unionists are using stalling tactics, anything to delay the peace process, every time their is a political impasse, it is not based on the key tenets or actual provisions of the GF Agreement, it is the Unionist communities refusal to move forward with the agreement they too endorsed.

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Watchman | Jan 25, 2010, 05:08 PM EST
Why would Unionists wish to be governed by people like Rebelforce, kickstar kellyi59, IrishAndProud and the rest (you know who you are)? I presume that most of those who write negative comments on Irishcentral are Irish-Americans and therefore, thankkfully, irrelevant to what happens in Ireland. But what a sour and sorry travesty they present of the Irish world outlook. Let's wait and see what happens in Belfast. My money is on a last-minute deal brokered by London and Dublin, with the help of Hillary Clinton's envoy Declan Kelly. But, in the name of anything that remains holy, give us a break!

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Rebelforce | Jan 25, 2010, 04:39 PM EST
I remember when the unionists were threatening to collapse the northern assembly because the IRA had failed to "decommission" all of its weaponry, the media was all set to blame Republicans for failing to deliver on what had been promised. Republicans "failed" to live up to their agreement we were told. So where is the media now during this crisis? Why aren't they demanding unionists fulfill the agreements that they made under the Good Friday and St Andrew's Agreements? The silence is deafening. But now that David Cameron has tipped his hand and demonstrated that he'll throw impartiality to the wind and be staunchly pro-Ulster unionist should (as expected) he becomes PM of England, why shouldn't the unionists delay and continue their intransigence?

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irishimport | Jan 25, 2010, 04:31 PM EST
The Uninoists will never change. They will always want their pound of flesh!

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kickstar | Jan 25, 2010, 02:44 PM EST
Seems to me Sinn Fein were getting the blame at one time for not taking their seats at the policing boards etc, But they sure aren't to blame this time. What a cheap shot by Bozo Robinson trying to sell Nationalists Something that they are more than entitled to....Stability, The Marching and Parades Commission are separate issues and should not even be discussed here, And as for Robinson why doesn't he go away and arrange his divorce.

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