DUP will engage with SF: McLaughlin

Ian Paisley’s Democrat Unionists will engage with Sinn Fein sooner or later, a senior republican claimed today.

Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin welcomed comments from DUP Assembly member William Hay that if republicans gave certain guarantees, his party would be prepared to “sit down and do business with them like any other constitutional party”.

Mr Hay, an MLA for Foyle and a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said his party would need a clear signal from republicans that they were going down the road to exclusively democratic means.

He said: “I think first of all we need to have a clear message from paramilitaries that their war is over and especially from the Republican Movement that there is a clear timetable of dismantling the IRA.

“Now if we can get those clear guarantees from the Republican Movement, we as a party would then sit down and do business with them like any other constitutional party because we feel the threat from violence is over,” Mr Hay told RTE radio.

Mr McLaughlin, also an MLA for Foyle, described Mr Hay’s comments as interesting.

He said at Stormont: “My response is that they will be talking to Sinn Fein sooner or later.

“It is the logic of the peace process and political process.

“Sinn Fein represents the largest number of nationalists in the Six Counties.

“Now either the DUP has a vision of leading their people in negative politics only – which means no vision, no future – or else they collectively have a belief in their own political skills and leadership.

“Their bid for the leadership of unionism is because they believe they can constructively represent and protect the interests of the unionist community.

“Now they will do that if they give equal respect to the mandates of the people across the table. So I would predict that yes it will happen and we will listen carefully.”