THE Irish and British governments are preparing a joint paper calling for decommissioning to be addressed during substantive talks, in line with the Mitchell Report, rather than in advance of talks as the unionist parties are demanding.
The two governments have accepted that after a year of little progress the talks are doomed if politicians cannot get away from "their obsession" over decommissioning, according to Irish Government sources.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has expressed outrage at the development. The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, has reaffirmed his party's position that there must be some IRA disarmament before Sinn Fein can be allowed into substantive negotiations.
Should decommissioning be dealt with in tandem with talks, it would meet one of Sinn Fein's key demands that the talks would not become "a conference on decommissioning". A Sinn Fein spokesman said he could not comment on something that was "speculation at this stage".
It is understood that the British government is still prepared, "depending on conditions on the ground", to allow its officials to hold a third meeting with Sinn Fein to discuss other matters of clarification such as when the party would be allowed into talks in the event of a ceasefire.
Dublin sources said last night the two governments agreed that a way must be found quickly around the decommissioning impasse to prevent the talks collapsing. To try to save the negotiations the governments are to publish a joint document "in a matter of weeks" to break the deadlock over decommissioning.
"We hope that all the parties will recognise that there is no future in talks proceeding as they are at present when after a year they haven't gone beyond square one," said one Government source.
According to Dublin sources the paper will urge all the parties to deal with decommissioning in line with the Mitchell Report. Paragraph 34 of the report states that "the parties should consider an approach under which some decommissioning would take place during the process of all party negotiations, rather than before or after as the parties now urge. Such an approach represents a compromise."
It is a compromise which Dr Paisley is emphatic he will not accept. He indicated the DUP would walk out of the talks if decommissioning effectively became a fourth strand of the talks, and accused the governments of "jettisoning principles" that there would be no compromise on the demand for prior decommissioning.
"Both governments are forfeiting their right to govern, and the people of Northern Ireland are sold out. The two governments have surrendered to the IRA and this is a surrender to get Sinn Fein into the talks. It is a disgrace," he said.
"To get the guns out of the hands of those who are killing people - if that is not a substantive issue then I don't know what is a substantive issue," he added.
Mr Trimble was more considered in his response although he restated the party's position elaborated in a paper last October that in the event of a genuine ceasefire the IRA must agree to hand over a first instalment of arms before it could enter substantive talks. He said this paper was "largely consistent with the Mitchell Report".
Mr Trimble hoped the British government would not think it could make progress without taking account of the views of the parties at the talks.
People should "wait and see" what unfolded. He accused the two governments of dragging heels in relation to the necessary legislation to establish an international verification commission, which was also a key UUP demand in its paper of last October.
"That paper referred to the verification commission, decommissioning schemes and a number of other matters. And we said if we got bankable assurances on these issues then we would, of course, be quite happy to move into substantive negotiations. The tragedy is both governments signally failed to respond to the request we put to them in October," said Mr Trimble.
