This page sets out the approach of the Labour Government elected in May 1997 to the pursuit of a political settlement in Northern Ireland and in particular to the multi-party talks which resumed on 3 June.
Successive British Governments since the 1970s have made attempts to find a political accommodation in Northern Ireland, commanding support in both communities there. These initiatives are outlined in:
The search for a political settlement in Northern Ireland
The efforts of recent years outlined on that page - which had the broad support of the Labour Party in Opposition - culminated in the setting up on 10 June 1996, following elections, of multi-party talks in Northern Ireland. Details of developments in the talks up to March 1997, when they closed down in advance of the general election, are set out in:
Progress in the Northern Ireland multi-party talks, June 1996 to March 1997
Briefly, three Independent Chairmen were appointed: Senator George Mitchell, the former majority leader of the US Senate; General John de Chastelain, former Chief of Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, and Mr Harri Holkeri, the former Prime Minister of Finland. The talks delegates met intensively during that period and agreed rules of procedure. But they were unable to advance into issues of substance because they failed to reach sufficient agreement on the issue of decommissioning of weapons by paramilitary organisations associated with parties that were or might be in the talks. They accordingly remained in their opening Plenary format.
Dr Mo Mowlam, the Secretary of State in the Labour Government formed in early May set out on her arrival in Northern Ireland her Government’s main policies for political advance:
Dr Mowlam on arrival in Belfast, 3 May
The Secretary of State is assisted in the talks by the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, Paul Murphy.
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, speaking in Belfast on his first official visit outside London, elaborated on these themes:
Prime Minister at Royal Ulster Agricultural Show, Belfast, 16 May 1997
The key points of the Government’s approach to Northern Ireland, outlined in the Prime Minister's speech, are:
The Secretary of State spoke again about her vision for the future in the debate on the revival of the Forum (set up as an adjunct to the political process, to discuss issues relating to the promotion of dialogue and understanding):
Mo Mowlam in the Forum Renewal Debate, 2 June 1997
Northern Ireland All Party Negotiations
Plenary: Chairman - Senator Mitchell
The Agreement
• The Young Will Shape Northern Ireland's Future, Mo Mowlam's Message to the North West, 12 May 1998
• Mo Mowlam Welcomes Sinn Fein Support for the Agreement, 11 May 1998
• Mo Mowlam Praises Electoral Office Staff in Referendum Countdown, 6 May 1998
• Lord Dubs Attends the Last Meeting of the Forum, 24 April 1998
• Belfast Agreement: Referendum Announcement, 21 April 1998
• Statement by the Northern Ireland Secretary on the Belfast Agreement of Good Friday, 20 April 1998
• The Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998
The Agreement and Statements
Northern Ireland Peace Process
• Political Progress and an end to Violence is needed, Adam Ingram, 7 April 1998
The Referendum
• The People will Have the Facts, says the Northern Ireland Secretary, 27 March 1998
Talks Process
• Statement by the Talks Chairman, 25 March 1998
Senator George Mitchell hopes that negotiations can be concluded by 9 April.
Mo Mowlam in Warrington
• A Real Chance to End the Violence for Good, 21 March 1998
Speaking to the Warrington Ireland Reconciliation Enterprise (WIRE).
• Joint Statement by the British and Irish Governments, 20 February 1998
The Ulster Democratic Party are invited to rejoin the Talks on Monday 23 February 1998.
• A Statement by the Leaders of the Four Main Churches, 20 February 1998
Northern Ireland Talks Move to Dublin
• A Statement by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam, 17 February 1998
This is a follow up to a previous statement made by the Northern Ireland Secretary on 16 February 1998.
• A Statement by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam, 16 February 1998
• A Joint Statement by the Two Governments at the Multi Party Talks, Dublin, 16 February 1998
Sinn Fein's Position in the Talks
• President Clinton's Statement in support of the Government's position, 20 February 1998
• British/Irish Joint Press Conference, 20 February 1998
UDP's Position in the Talks
Mr Murphy met with members of the UDP to discuss there exclusion from the Talks Process.
• Mr Paul Murphy meets members of the UDP, 12 February 1998
In a statement the Northern Ireland Secretary expressed her hope that agreement could be reached in the Talks by the May target date.
The Talks moved to London on 26 January.
• Opening Remarks by the Prime Minister at a Reception for the Multi Party Talks, 27 January 1998
Papers were presented to the parties by the British and Irish Governments to aid discussion.
• Strand 2: North/South Structures, a paper to facilitate discussion, 27 January 1998
• Strand 3: East/West Structures, a paper to facilitate discussion, 27 January 1998
On 26 January the Ulster Democratic Party were no longer permitted to take part in the Talks.
A paper was presented by the two Governments on possible areas of North/South co-operation.
It was announced on 14 January that a session of the talks would be taking place in London, it was confirmed in a meeting of the talks business committee that a three day session would take place in London commencing the week of 26 January. Furthermore the discussion will also move to Dublin Castle for three days commencing 16 February.
• Northern Ireland Talks to Meet in London and Dublin, 14 January 1998
On 12 January, after working intensively over the Christmas break the British and Irish Governments presented the paper "Propositions on Heads of Agreement". This paper sets out propositions for debate and discussion whose elements taken together offer only an outline of an acceptable agreement.
A Road Map to a New Future for Northern Ireland
• Political Comment on Heads of Agreement Propositions, 13 January 1998
• Joint Statement by the British and Irish Governments, 12 January 1998
• Proposition on Heads of Agreement Paper, 12 January 1998
On 16 December the Prime Minister met with Mr Gerry Adams, MP in 10 Downing Street.
• Prime Minister's meeting with leader of Sinn Fein, 16 December 1997
On 13 October the Prime Minister met all delegations involved in the talks.
• Prime Minister Meets All Delegations Taking Part in the Political Talks
On 7 October the talks participants entered into negotiations on the three strands of the talks process.
• Northern Ireland Talks: Strand Three Opening Statement by the British Government
• Northern Ireland Talks: Strand Two Opening Statement by the British Government
The talks resumed again after the summer break on 9 September. Sinn Féin attended for the first time and subscribed to the Mitchell principles of democracy and non-violence, set out in paragraph 20 of the report of the international Body that considered decommissioning.
Preparations to launch the decommissioning machinery continued: Paul Murphy and the Irish Minister for Justice briefed the members-designate on the Independent Commission on decommissioning.
On 15 September, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach, having reviewed together the situation, clarified their views on two points.
On 29 August the Secretary of State announced that Sinn Féin would be invited into the talks process, since in the light of the IRA's resumption of its ceasefire they now in her view met the requirements of the Northern Ireland (Entry to Negotiations, etc) Act 1996:
Statement by the Secretary of State, 29 August
Statement by the Secretary of State on meeting with Sinn Féin, 6 August
Sinn Féin met the Secretary of State on 6 August:
On 19 July, the IRA announced the unequivocal restoration of its ceasefire of 1994.
A letter was sent to Sinn Féin on 9 July clarifying the Government's approach in response to a number of questions raised by Sinn Féin.
The Prime Minister, in his speech of 16 May, said that he wished to make one further effort to establish if talks could proceed including Sinn Féin. He was therefore prepared to allow officials to meet Sinn Féin, to explain the Government’s position and to assess whether the Republican movement genuinely was ready to give up violence and commit itself to politics alone. If it was not prepared to make that transition, the Prime Minister made clear, the process would proceed without Sinn Féin. Several meetings were held.
To make clear the Government’s position on points raised in these meetings, an aide mémoire was sent to Sinn Féin. The Prime Minister presented the aide mémoire to Parliament on 25 June:
The Prime Minister’s statement
Text of aide-mémoire sent to Sinn Féin
The Prime Minister made clear on 16 May that Government favoured the participation of Sinn Féin, the political wing of the IRA, in the multi-party talks, to which they were returned in the 1996 elections, along with 9 other parties. Like its predecessor and successive Irish Governments, however, the government held to the position that in the absence of an unequivocal restoration of the IRA’s ceasefire, Sinn Féin excluded themselves from the talks. There had been a number of developments in relation to the participation of Sinn Féin under the previous Government.
The Democratic Unionist Party and the United Kingdom Unionist Party have ceased to attend the talks.
They reiterated this determination when the Northern Ireland Secretary and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ray Burke, met in Dublin on 29 July.
The talks adjourned on 28 July until 9 September. Work continued to ensure that the mechanisms for decommissioning would be capable of being launched simultaneously with substantive negotiations and on 26 August the Secretary of State and Mr Burke signed an Agreement providing for the setting up of the Independent Commission.
The Governments’ proposals were put before the talks on 23 July. They failed to achieve ‘sufficient consensus’ - that is the support of representatives of a majority of each community which is necessary for approval under the talks rules. The two Governments made clear their determination to press on with the talks process, and their commitment to substantive political negotiations on 15 September.
There followed a period of discussion and clarification between the Governments and the parties. On 16 July, the two Governments put forward clarifications of some points in their papers:
Explanation of Governments' position on decommissioning: Paul Murphy's speaking notes
The Prime Minister, in a statement in the House of Commons following publication of the Paper, made clear the Government’s determination to press on with the talks process, with a view to substantive negotiations beginning in September, and a conclusion by May 1998.
The Prime Minister’s statement on decommissioning paper and Sinn Féin aide mémoire, 25 June 1997
Proposed conclusions of two Governments on decommissioning, 25 June
These proposals build on earlier discussions on decommissioning, and the Independent Commission would operate under legislation passed by the British and Irish Parliaments.
At the opening of the talks, the Secretary of State set out her hopes in greater detail:
The Secretary of State’s comments on opening of talks, 3 June 1997
The President of the United States expressed his support for the talks.
When the talks reopened, the participants reverted to the issue of decommissioning, with the Chairmen pursuing discussions among the parties. The British and Irish Governments also consulted about the issues. In the light of discussion, the two Governments put forward on 25 June their proposed conclusions on decommissioning. They are based firmly on the recommendations of the International Body (constituted by Senator Mitchell, General de Chastelain and Prime Minister Holkeri) which reported on the issue in January 1996. The two Governments undertook to work to bring about due progress on decommissioning alongside progress in the substantive political negotiations. This would involve the establishment of mechanisms for achieving further progress on decommissioning, to be established alongside the launch of the three-stranded negotiations. The mechanisims would be:
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For more information on Northern Ireland, please contact Paul Johnston or Glen Harding at British Information Services, (212) 745 0231 or 745 0348. Information is available on a wide range of topics, including the background to the peace process, Government policy and facts and figures about Northern Ireland.
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