Paisley And The DUP Rule Out Political Progress In The North

Tells Crowds That There Will Be No Power Sharing With Republicans

Democratic Unionist Party leader, Ian Paisley, has ruled out political progress in the North during a high-profile speech at a Twelfth of July Orange rally in Co Antrim.

Mr Paisley told Orangemen that he can foresee no circumstances under which he can share power with Sinn Fein.

"There will be no power-sharing with republicans, power-sharing will take place over my dead body," he told the rally.

During his speech Mr Paisley insisted that republicans still retain some of their weaponry and are involved in 'widespread criminality'.

Although the comments were made at an Orange rally, with a particular audience in mind, the speech highlights the opposition to power-sharing at the highest levels of the DUP, despite the 24th November deadline set by both governments for power-sharing to be implemented.

The hardline comments came despite one of the most peaceful marching seasons in recent years.

There is a growing suspicion amongst observers that the DUP is content to see the 24th November deadline pass in the hope of renegotiating a fresh deal with Tony Blair's successor when the British PM steps down next April.

However there are also signs of a split within the DUP, with a more moderate section led by Deputy leader, Peter Robinson, in favour of some form of power-sharing arrangement.

Despite the bellicose language used by Mr Paisley efforts continued this week to encourage loyalist involvement in the peace process.

Last week representatives of the Ulster Defence Association, the largest paramilitary group in the North, met with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for talks in Dublin.

After the meeting the loyalist delegation emerged to say they were confident that joint authority would not be imposed on the North if the political parties failed to reach an agreement by the November deadline.

The statement further isolates the DUP who are currently the only party opposed to power-sharing with Sinn Fein.

In a low-key, but significant development, Sinn Fein has publicly admitted that it met with the PSNI to discuss the handling of contentius parades through flashpoint areas of Belfast.

Sinn Fein refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the PSNI, and the public acknowledgement of the meeting is regarded as a sign that the Sinn Fein leadership is preparing the republican grassroots for an historic deal on policing in the near future.

Should Sinn Fein endorse the police it will remove one of the key obstacles to political progress which the DUP has set in recent weeks.

In a reciprocal gesture the British government has also hinted in recent days that it may be prepared to fund community restorative justice (CRJ) schemes in republican areas.

Should that happen it would effectively allow CRJ, which republicans support, to act as a buffer between republican communities and the PSNI.

Despite Paisley's rhetoric it is clear that behind-the-scenes moves are taking place to put in place the building blocks of a political deal.

It may be that when the Assembly is reconvened in September, for one last push at power-sharing, political progress has been made despite the marching season.