Executive collapses
BY SEAN BRADY
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Thursday's farcical performance began when Presiding Officer John Alderdice granted five minutes to an absent David Trimble to make the first nomination of the day
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On Wednesday evening, the 110-strong Ulster Unionist Party Executive met in Glengall Street, Belfast. David Trimble emerged from the offices at 7.15pm to inform reporters that his party would not participate in the d'Hondt procedure to appoint ministers to the power-sharing Executive. The following day, Trimble announced that his party would boycott the sitting of the Assembly.
The proceedings at Stormont on Thursday descended into the realms of pantomime. The Ulster Unionist Party failed to turn up and a fantasy Executive comprised of six SDLP and four Sinn Féin Ministers was formed and immediately collapsed because it did not contain a minimum of three unionists. The Assembly itself adjourned indefinitely pending a review of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Earlier, a DUP motion to debate the exclusion of Sinn Féin from the Assembly fell as it did not have the 30 supporting signatures necessary.
Thursday's farcical performance began when Presiding Officer John Alderdice granted five minutes to an absent David Trimble to make the first nomination of the day, but the First Minister designate and his 28 Assembly party members were absent and live TV focused in on Trimble's empty seat as the Assembly sat in silence. Alderdice was forced to move on without the UUP after the five minutes passed and stated that he would fill the positions on the Executive with the parties who were in attendance.
SDLP leader John Hume, nominating officer for the second largest party under the d'Hondt formula for the allocation of ministers, nominated Mark Durkan as Minister for Finance and Personnel, which he accepted.
There followed a 15-minute suspension of the Assembly sitting at the request of Ian Paisley on his turn to nominate. When proceedings resumed however, Paisley refused to nominate any Minister so as to ``oust Sinn Féin''.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams then nominated Bairbre de Brún as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
If the unionists think that the equality agenda is going to disappear then
they are mistaken. The equality agenda is only beginning. If the unionists
think that they are going to hold onto the RUC they're mistaken, because we
still need a new policing service for people in this state.
Gerry Adams
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After John Hume nominated Seán Farren as Minister for Regional Development, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness became Six-County Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, while the SDLP's Bríd Rodgers became Minister for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment.
Under the d'Hondt formula, with the UUP absent and the DUP refusing to participate, the Alliance Party was asked to nominate a minister. Party leader Sean Neeson refused because of what he said was the ``unforgivable'' absence of the Ulster Unionists and the ``outrageous'' standing order collapsing the Executive if it did not contain the requisite number of both nationalists and unionists.
After Sinn Féin Vice President Pat Doherty was nominated as Minister for Education, a bombshell was dropped when Eddie McGrady, reflecting deep tensions within the SDLP, refused to accept his nomination by John Hume as Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Hume then offered the nomination to Joe Hendron, who accepted.
Robert McCartney of the UK Unionists was requested to nominate but said that ``under no circumstances'' would he consider doing so. The final three ministerial posts were filled by Denis Haughey (SDLP) as Minister for Social Development, Mary Nelis (Sinn Féin), Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure and Alban McGuinness (SDLP), Minister for the Environment.
Alderdice immediately deemed that the Executive could not continue as it was in contravention of the Standing Orders, which outlined a requirement of three unionist ministers.
Following the dissolution of the Executive, The Deputy First minister, Séamus Mallon of the SDLP, announced his resignation and in an emotional speech accused the Ulster Unionists of attempting to ``bleed this very process dry'' and implied heavily that David Trimble should resign as First Minister: ``If the UUP leader wishes to speak for the Ulster Unionist Party then he should do so as leader of that party. He cannot do so from the privileged position as First Minister of this Assembly.''
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, addressing the Assembly, slammed the UUP for failing to turn up and accused the DUP leader Ian Paisley of behaving in a disgraceful manner in terms of political leadership over 30 years and the climate he helped create and the type of politics in which he has been involved.
Adams warned the unionists that the human rights, social, economic and cultural aspects of the Good Friday Agreement would continue to be implemented. ``If the unionists think that the equality agenda is going to disappear then they are mistaken. The equality agenda is only beginning. If the unionists think that they are going to hold onto the RUC they're mistaken, because we still need a new policing service for people in this state.''
Adams said it had been a ``huge thing'' for Sinn Féin to change its Constitution and enter the Assembly, but the party had done so in an effort to face up to responsibilities. He said the Sinn Féin members of the Assembly had been ``survivors of Bloody Sunday, of Duke Street. We've been CS gassed, CR gassed, we've been plastic bulleted. We have been in H-Blocks, we have been in prison ships, we have been in prison cells.'' In spite of all this, Adams said he was still asking that a sensible and positive unionism come forward and seize the opportunity for peace and progress.
On Friday, it was clear that the Good Friday Agreement had ``crash landed'' through the UUP's obstructionist stance and that the London and Dublin governments would now proceed to a review of the implementation of the Agreement.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced that US ex-Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the Good Friday negotiations, had agreed to devote ``a few days'' to the see if the pieces could be picked up again.
On Sunday, Ahern said that the target date for decommissioning could be affected by the stalling of the entire process by the unionists and that the date of May 2000 may have to be put back. His comments resulted in angry reaction from the Ulster Unionists, who demanded a statement on the matter before it had further discussions with Dublin.
On Monday, Gerry Adams met the Taoiseach in Dublin and afterwards insisted that any review of the implementation of the Agreement should be focused and time-limited. ``The unionist stance has been to delay the process and therefore a lengthy review suits the unionists' stalling and delaying tactics,'' he said.
Bertie Ahern and British Premier Tony Blair held a summit meeting on Tuesday where Blair confirmed that George Mitchell would act as facilitator for the review of the implementation of the Agreement. Mitchell immediately met with UUP leader David Trimble.
Both premiers said that the Agreement review would be ``tightly focused'' and aimed at a ``speedy conclusion''.
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