ORANGE ORDER DISMISSIVE OF STAFFORDSHIRE TALKS

ORANGE Order leaders across the province showed elements of hardening attitudes towards the ongoing peace talks in Weston Park at their 12 July speeches.

Speaking at Benburb in County Tyrone, Orange Order Grand Master Robert Saulters encouraged unionists to abandon the Staffordshire political talks.

In an attack on the prime minister, he told Orangemen: "Tony Blair is fooling no one with his gimmicky meetings, neither is the juggling of the Stormont first minister post.

“Frankly, if there was any guts amongst all unionists they would have walked out by now and demanded a proper democratic government for Northern Ireland."

In Derriaghy, County Antrim anti-Agreement unionist Jeffrey Donaldson challenged the prime minister to introduce legislation to throw Sinn Fein out of government at Stormont if the IRA failed to disarm.

The Lagan Valley MP, who is part of the Ulster Unionist talks team at Staffordshire, described the discussions as an "absolute waste of time".

He also said unionists had had enough and their patience had been exhausted: “We need to see actual decommissioning of IRA weapons in a manner which clearly renders them permanently unusable and permanently inaccessible.

“Mere statements from the mythical `P O'Neill' or agreement on modalities or timetables will not suffice. Product is required as a matter of urgency."

Meanwhile in Keady, County Armagh the County Grand Master of Armagh, Dennis Watson, challenged the chairman of the Parades Commission, Tony Holland, to hold all future commission meetings in an ''open and transparent manner'', he said: "The public have a right to see the deliberations of this unelected body for themselves.”

Mr Watson called on all members to sign the Covenant for Human Rights which was launched at all the Twelfth demonstrations throughout the province.

He said the campaign was seeking the "full restoration of fundamental human rights in Northern Ireland". (AMcE)