Talks diary
Monday was spent awaiting George Mitchell's ``best
guess'' agreement document. It finally arrived after
midnight.
Tuesday: Following several phone calls between Blair
and Trimble the UUP decided to demand a ``radically
different'' document.
UUP deputy leader John Taylor said, ``I wouldn't touch
this paper with a 40 foot pole.'' The UDP followed suit
and rejected the document, as did Alliance leader John
Alderdice..
In the early evening Tony Blair arrived at Hillsborough
Castle. He held meetings with Trimble, Alderdice and
PUP leader David Ervine. He also had telephone
conversations with other parties. Later that night
Blair held discussions with Senator Mitchell and Mo
Mowlam.
Wednesday: Bertie Ahern arrived at Hillsborough for
talks with Tony Blair and left within an hour with no
comment. He went to Stormont for talks with Sinn Féin
and the SDLP before leaving for his mother's funeral in
Dublin. At lunchtime talks reconvened and pessimism
seemed to prevail in party statements. The UUP said
progress could only be achieved if the Dublin
government stood back from what it termed their
``pro-republican'' stance.
In the late afternoon Ian Paisley gave a press
conference at Stormont Castle and said that an
agreement would not lead to peace.
Bertie Ahern later returned and said, ``I have come here
to listen, and I think everybody is prepared to move a
little bit.''
Thursday: As negotiations and press
interviews/conferences continued the public mood of
unionists changed to optimism, if not triumphalism. The
UUP tabled a proposal which Mitchel McLaughlin
described as ``trying to take the guts out of Strand 2''.
It was a day of frantic meetings between parties and
the two governments which continued into the early
hours of the morning. By 2.00am no agreement had been
reached but reports indicated that the Dublin
government and the SDLP had moved towards the Unionist
position.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)