Trimble calls for pressure on republicans to continue

NORTHERN Secretary Peter Hain will be making a grave mistake if he fails to put pressure on republicans to disband the IRA, David Trimble warned yesterday.

An emotional Mr Trimble, who is stepping down as Ulster Unionist leader after the party’s traumatic Westminster election, admitted that in negotiations after the Good Friday Agreement he could have adopted a harder approach.

But he claimed republicans had been indulged for far too long by the British and Irish governments over the future of the IRA.

And he also said that any indication from the IRA that it was prepared to abandon armed struggle in response to Gerry Adams call for it to do so must be accompanied by a report from the Independent Monitoring Commission confirming disbandment.

“If statements like that came, then obviously there would be an obligation to respond,” he said.

“But that isn’t likely to be the case because I don’t think that republicans have yet realised that they will have to disband the private army and government isn’t making it clear to them that they must.

“The reluctance of government to use the terms which I have just used is in itself a mistake.

“The fact that government is still not putting pressure on the republic movement is also a mistake and it is part of the mistake which has caused the problem which led to the outcome of last Thursday.

“Peter Hain will be a failure unless he changes his approach.”

In last week’s British election, the Ulster Unionists lost four seats including Mr Trimble’s in Upper Bann as the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist asserted their dominance in unionism.

Reflecting on his time as party leader, he said: “There is no security of tenure in politics. You are at the mercy of the electorate all the time and you’re also at the mercy of events.

“Actually 10 years is a pretty good innings. I have had a good innings timewise. If I think back to Northern Ireland 10 years’ ago and look at Northern Ireland today, I could say that there is a darned good balance sheet there.”

Mr Trimble promised his full loyalty to his successor but was unwilling to identify who it should be.

While the DUP had made significant gains at the polls, Mr Trimble said the party’s Free Presbyterian values were not reflected by the broader unionist community.

“Unionism needs the Ulster Unionist Party,” he insisted. Mr Trimble claimed the electorate had voted for political stalemate in last week’s election.

“They don’t expect the DUP to do better and I think they are right in that.

“Rather sadly my view would be that the Unionist electorate who voted the way they did last Thursday are voting for a stalemate.”