Paisley warns Sinn Féin must deliver on policing decision

SINN FÉIN’S decision to support the police in the North is a step forward, DUP leader Ian Paisley acknowledged yesterday.

But he insisted Sinn Féin would have to deliver cooperation with the police if there was to be further progress towards devolution.

Sinn Féin members voted by an overwhelming margin at a special árd fheis on Sunday to endorse the Police Service of Northern Ireland, provided a governance structure acceptable to republicans is agreed for the North. That vote, in turn, put pressure on Mr Paisley’s party to agree to share power with Sinn Féin.

The Irish and British Governments envisage Assembly elections being held on March 7 and devolution being restored on March 26. Mr Paisley, who met British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday, said he believed the elections would go ahead as planned.

“If you had told me 20 years ago that they would be repudiating the very fundamentals of Sinn Féin/IRA, I would have laughed, but that’s what they have done.

“Of course, they have done it on a postdated cheque. Now, a postdated cheque is no good to you until the day comes and the time for paying out. They have to pay out now.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the party would encourage people to cooperate with the PSNI.

“If some unfortunate person is the victim of a rape, if those despicable elements terrorising old people in their homes continue, and if death riders continue to mow down people, Sinn Féin will be encouraging people to work and cooperate with police to take these people off the streets,” Mr Adams said.

“The communities we represent have a right to a policing service.”

Northern Secretary Peter Hain warned both parties he would trigger Assembly elections only when he was certain they would live up to their commitments.

Mr Hain said: The point of having an election on March 7 is to trigger a power-sharing executive on March 26. We can’t have another election to an Assembly that might not exist.”

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mr Blair meet today to discuss the next steps in the process.

Separately, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) will publish an upbeat assessment of the current climate following Sinn Féin’s weekend move.

The two governments established the IMC to report on paramilitary activity and the normalisation of security measures in the North. The latest IMC report covers September to November last, and will be “positive”, an IMC official said.

The report was completed yesterday and presented to the two governments. It will be published in Belfast this afternoon.