Taoiseach meets with loyalist delegation

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has met with a delegation from the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which is the political wing of the UDA.

During yesterday's meeting, which took place in Dublin, loyalists told the Taoiseach that they will work to convince the unionist community that there will be no sell-out in the Northern Ireland political process.

The meeting was initially set up to discuss current initiatives in restoring an all-party power-sharing local assembly by the November 24 deadline.

After the meeting with Mr Ahern, David Nicholl of the UPRG, said: "We told the Taoiseach that we would work within our particular constituency of loyalism to keep the calm, to persuade people there is no sell-out plan.

"That there is no betrayal, that there will be no imposition of any further agreement. There is one agreement. People must sign up to it."

Mr Nicholl also said that it was now up to republicans to convince the unionist community that it has abandoned criminality for good.

Mr Nicholl, who was speaking on behalf of the UPRG negotiation team, said DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley`s statement that he would never share power with Sinn Fein should be viewed in the light that he was addressing Orangemen at the time.

Mr Nicholl said: "It is the same rhetoric we have heard as loyalists for the past 35 years. What we would say in relation to that is, we have marched up the hill many a time, and we have been let down many a time.

"But loyalism is not going to fill the grave or fill prisons for the next 35 years on no-one's behalf.

"If there is blood to be spilled then let Dr Paisley spill his own blood, because it will not be our bodies he is climbing over."

Commenting on the meeting, Irish Premier Bertie Ahern said that the meeting had been both "positive" and "focused."

The Taoiseach said that the main aim of the meeting was to focus on the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Stormont executive by November 24, and added that this was achievable, if the will was there to do so.

He stressed that both the Irish and British governments' purpose was to protect the benefits of the Agreement and loyalism had nothing to fear in this.

Mr Ahern said relationships had been twisted and blighted for far too long and everyone had to make a conscious effort to get it right for the future.

Commenting on the meeting, the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson said the UPRG should respect his party's "huge mandate from the unionist community" and " instead of attacking fellow unionists, to use their mandate to bring about some movement on the part of the Ulster Defence Association in terms of ending criminality and terrorism and bringing about the decommissioning of weapons."

A Sinn Fein spokesman said the party welcomed the fact the dialogue had taken place and called for the UPRG to work towards bringing an end to attacks on Catholics, an end to drug dealing and an effort to engage with the Independent International Commission On Decommissioning.

(EF/SP)