Adams and Durkan meet as election hopes rise

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan were due to meet today as speculation mounted that an Assembly election in Northern Ireland was drawing near.

The two leaders were meeting as part of a series of negotiations this week aimed at restoring devolution and addressing concerns about paramilitarism.

Mr Adams has also been involved in a series of face-to-face meetings with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.

All five in the process believe there is a genuine possibility of a third weapons decommissioning act by the IRA.

However, they remain unsure about whether the IRA is prepared to sign up to an end to all paramilitary activity.

Republicans have faced demands over the past year to address concerns about the future existence of the IRA ever since devolution collapsed over the discovery of an alleged spy ring at Stormont.

Tony Blair cancelled plans for an Assembly election in May, four days into the campaign when the Provisionals failed to issue a clear statement confirming an end to all activities.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and the IRA had assured all sides in the process that republicans would not do anything to undermine the Good Friday Agreement.

However, Mr Blair felt these assurances were not strong enough to guarantee a workable power-sharing executive and Assembly if devolution was restored.

Following a quiet summer, a fresh effort to restore devolution had been launched.

Sinn Féin leaders have signalled in recent days that they will not request a move to advance the peace process from the IRA unless they are given a firm date for an Assembly election.

Some Ulster unionists have urged the British government not to cave in to this republican demand.

Ulster unionists have insisted that the Provisionals must address the need for a credible decommissioning process and to wind down all paramilitary activity.

They want the IRA to demonstrate that republicans are committed to pursuing exclusively peaceful and democratic means.

Sinn Féin, however, has retorted that it is a mistake to focus soley on demands to the IRA.

They insist the British and Irish governments have responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement on a range of issues which they have not honoured.

The party has also insisted it needs guarantees from the Ulster Unionists that they will not collapse devolution again if it is restored.

Mr Adams and Mr Durkan were meeting today following clashes between their parties over their positions and the current political deadlock.

SDLP deputy leader Brid Rodgers told republicans on Sunday that they needed to address the collapse in unionist confidence in them and she also claimed Sinn Féin’s insistence that it could not go to the IRA without an election date with a bogus argument.

Sinn Féin’s chairman Mitchel McLaughlin countered that Mrs Rodgers was justifying the British government’s decision to withhold an election, although this was denied by the SDLP deputy leader.

As parties focus on delivering a November Assembly election, it emerged yesterday that US president George Bush’s special envoy to Northern Ireland, Ambassador Richard Haass, would visit the North next week for talks with politicians.