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The Prime Minister: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and I agree with him entirely: every day lost in this process, while there is uncertainty, is a tragedy. The impact of the renewed campaign of mindless violence in the last month is not only a disgrace, but makes it harder for those who seek peace to find a way in which it can be viably achieved. The hon. Gentleman is quite right in what he had to say about exclusively peaceful means, and equally right to state that it now makes it more difficult to persuade people that anyone is genuine in their intentions as a result of what has happened over the past few days.
The establishment of and the commitment to peace must be met and resolved. The Mitchell report sets out a way forward, and we believe that all concerned should be able to agree. It is not entirely easy for everyone, but I think it will be possible for everyone to agree to proceed in that way.
The issues to which the hon. Gentleman referred will be on the agenda at the beginning of the negotiations and will have to be addressed seriously by all concerned--including Sinn Fein, if the violence has ended and if it is in the negotiations. We will be urging all the parties to address the agreed agenda in that positive spirit so that the comprehensive negotiations can go forward successfully. The issues relating to decommissioning cannot be dodged or swept aside--they are of critical importance, as Senator Mitchell has said, and as all hon. Members understand.
The hon. Gentleman touched on the issue of legislative action in both Parliaments on matters related to a series of technical matters, including armaments. The hon. Gentleman is right: we would need to bring legislation before this House, and it is probable--subject to an examination of the law in the Republic--that the Irish Government would need to bring legislation before their Parliament as well. If that is necessary, it will be done, and it is being pursued. That should not provide an impediment to progress.
Mr. Seamus Mallon (Newry and Armagh):
Harsh words have been spoken across the Floor of the House recently, so it gives me pleasure to commend the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach for their tenacity in bringing forward these deliberations; I should like that comment to go on the record in the spirit in which it is given. The statement is important because it is a declaration of intent by the political process that our problems will be solved in one way, and one way only: through peaceful, democratic means.
Does the Prime Minister agree that, in effect, this is a moment of truth for all paramilitary, terrorist groupings in Northern Ireland, who will have to make a choice whether they will join in creating that peace or will isolate themselves in standing against the express wishes of the Irish people who want that peace so desperately?
The Prime Minister has said that the only reason for an elective process, which he knows we oppose, is to go directly and immediately into all-party negotiations.
Will the Prime Minister give an assurance in this House today that this process will not be allowed--or that the two Governments will not allow it--to be used by any
party or parties as a reason for engaging on another pub crawl of preconditions? Will he give an assurance that those who enter into this process are duty-bound to begin those negotiations and to continue them through until they either end successfully or they have reached their time limit, which the Prime Minister has not yet spoken about?
Will the Prime Minister assure the House that, when he sets out the timetable, as he has done here, no vetoes will be exercisable within this process, and that no preconditions will be used to prevent negotiations from moving to a successful conclusion?
The Prime Minister:
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his kind words. The House is occasionally familiar with harsh words, and occasionally with generous words, and, at the outset of his remarks, the hon. Gentleman exemplified the latter.
The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the paramilitaries must make a choice. The road to political respectability for those in Sinn Fein is set out here, if they have the courage and the will to take it, but the choice must be theirs. If they take that road, if there is a comprehensive ceasefire, if they enter into the negotiations in the way set out by the Mitchell committee, the road to full-scale political respectability is open for Sinn Fein as a newly democratic party, but the choice is theirs and only they can make that choice. I can provide the opportunity, but I cannot compel them to take it. I very much hope that they will, but the choice is for them.
As far as the process is concerned, the fundamental purpose of what I had to say this afternoon was precisely to set a firm date for the negotiations to begin. On that firm date, I hope that we will find all parties prepared, in whatever fashion, to take part in those negotiations and to carry them forward.
I do not want any party to put a roadblock in front of the negotiations--not the hon. Gentleman's or any other party--but I cannot compel parties to do something. I can set out the circumstances and encourage them to take options but I do not literally have the power to compel them to negotiate. I can set out the way and the circumstances in which they can, try to remove the impediments that each party feels lie in the way of negotiating, and encourage them to negotiate, and all that I will do. As a result, I hope that we will be able not only to enter negotiations, but to carry them properly and fully forward to a conclusion.
Mr. Paddy Ashdown (Yeovil):
The Prime Minister must know how widely this statement will be welcomed, not just in the House but throughout the country, and in Ireland as well. The Government and others have had to compromise on it. That was the right and the courageous thing to do, and I commend the Government and the other parties for doing so.
I greatly welcome the fact that a firm date has been set. The two Governments are entirely right to insist that no one shall have a veto over that process. Those who will not relinquish violence cannot take part in those talks, but they cannot stop them happening, either. We would all much prefer Sinn Fein to be on board, but on board or overboard, it cannot stop the process continuing.
I have three brief questions to put to the Prime Minister. First, he is right to say that, if agreement cannot be reached on the context of the elections, the Government
must bring their own proposals to the House. Will he confirm that, in doing so, the thing that will weigh most heavily in his mind is not what the Government may prefer--the Government are likely to be neutral on this--but what will command the widest support for those elections?
Secondly, given the time frame in which the elections must be carried out, with a result by 10 June, will the Prime Minister confirm that it is most likely that the existing system of the single transferable vote is the only one that can conform to that time frame?
Thirdly, will the Prime Minister address the all-party negotiations on 10 June, because the question put to him by the leader of the Labour party is absolutely relevant here? The Prime Minister said that adherence to the six principles of Mitchell will be the first item on the agenda. Will he confirm that it will not be possible for parties simply to hold up progress at those negotiations, if it is clear that they do not intend to adhere to those six principles?
In his statement, the right hon. Gentleman said:
He said that that was his Government's view; will he also confirm that it is the Irish Government's view?
The Prime Minister:
Yes, I can confirm that last point: it is the view of the Irish Government as well. Let me make it quite clear, because the same point emerged from two separate observations that the right hon. Gentleman made.
If Sinn Fein drops violence and meets the same commitments as the other parties, it can continue in the negotiations--there is no difficulty with that. If it continues with violence, it will not stop the negotiations continuing after 10 June; they will continue without Sinn Fein. If violence were to reactivate after the negotiations had begun, equally, the negotiations would continue.
The democratic process will continue, and we are not in the mood to let it be derailed by those who do not subscribe to it. That is our opinion, and I believe that it is also the opinion of the Irish Government, as the right hon. Gentleman asked.
As I say, 10 June is the date for the negotiations to begin. It follows that the election must precede that date by a few days, but probably not by all that long. We are looking to determine the time scale exactly. In purely parliamentary terms, it is necessary to take account of the length of the Easter recess in terms of bringing negotiations forward.
"If it becomes clear that any party is not committed to these principles and this approach, either at the beginning of negotiations or subsequently, in our view there will be no place for them at the negotiating table."
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