UUP putting 'IRA in government', say DUP

Unionists who participate in round table talks at Stormont are helping put the IRA back into devolved government, Democratic Unionist deputy leader Peter Robinson claimed tonight.

Responding to claims by Ulster Unionist negotiator Reg Empey that the DUP’s absence from yesterday’s round table talks masked the party’s real policy of engaging and sharing power with Sinn Fein, the East Belfast MP accused his rival of facilitating republicans.

“The criticism of the DUP for not attending the Agreement revival talks was a little ironic given that his party leader (David Trimble) found an award ceremony somewhat more important than what was going on at Stormont,” Mr Robinson responded on the eve of his party’s annual conference.

“Mr Empey has clearly been irked by the fact that when the music stopped he was left carrying the talks papers – talks papers which will turn out to be a ticking bomb for unionists.

“Mr Empey and all Ulster Unionists have been warned about the lunacy of their involvement in the current process and how it will inevitably lead to even greater concessions to the IRA.

“They are repeating the mistakes of Weston Park but when the concessions are made they will simply wring their hands and seek to pass the blame.”

In a statement issued after yesterday’s round table meeting, Empey accused the DUP of “running away” from representing their voters at the talks.

The East Belfast MLA noted DUP members had in recent weeks engaged Sinn Fein directly in television debates in Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Unionist negotiator quipped: “Perhaps if Stormont has been transformed into a giant television studio, the DUP might have been prepared yesterday to sit opposite Sinn Fein/IRA.

“Slowly but surely they are pulling back from their stated position of having nothing to do with Sinn Fein/IRA.

“They work alongside republicans at Stormont and it is now abundantly clear to all of us that the DUP are preparing the ground for a major policy reversal.

“Why the DUP didn’t take the extra step by attending the Stormont talks is a mystery, given that it has already completed a u-turn it said it would never, never, never make.”

Mr Robinson, in turn, accused the Ulster Unionists of “arrogance” and of refusing to listen to DUP warnings about concessions to republicans.

The East Belfast MP argued: “The UUP are either too stupid to know they are being used to facilitate concessions to the IRA or they are willing accomplices.

“The only unionist who would be any part of the current talks process is one with a desire to see the IRA elevated back into government and inevitable concessions made to facilitate that.

“The DUP is not in the business of breathing life into a failed agreement; it is in the business of bringing about a new agreement. Reg Empey may wish to facilitate the Republican agenda; the DUP is out to stymie it.

“The time for real and meaningful negotiations is after an election when a new agreement can be devised which can reflect the real views of the community.”