DUP defends stance on power sharing
Deputy leader of the Democratic Unionists, Peter Robinson, has rejected claims that he represents a party of wreckers.
He said his party had a positive agenda regarding the power-sharing executive.
The DUP is to meet Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy on Monday.
Mr Murphy will write to parties, asking for a review of the Good Friday Agreement.
The review will start in January. But the DUP has yet to make clear whether it will embrace the review, as it is delimited within the “workings” of the extant accord.
Mr Murphy said yesterday: “70 per cent of the people of Northern Ireland last night voted for parties which are pro-agreement, and we believe that the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement are here to stay.
“I think that every party in the Assembly doesn’t want a return to those bad old days of the 30 years of the troubles.
“We need to move forward now. It’s going to be lots of challenges, lots of difficulties.
“But nevertheless we have to find out what unites parties, and the reality is that they all want devolution to return.”
Following last week’s elections, the DUP emerged with the largest majority in the Northern Ireland Assembly with 30 seats, ousting the Ulster Unionists as the largest pro-union party. Sinn Fein garnered 24 seats.
The DUP has consistently claimed it would refuse to share power with Sinn Fein until the IRA completely and verifiably denounced terrorism and embraced full decommissioning.
The DUP leadership has said his majority was a clear sign that the Good Friday Agreement had to be rethought.
Mr Robinson said: “You cannot have those who are inextricably linked to violence being given places in government, and being accepted as if they were legitimate political representatives. They must give up violence.
“They must stand down their terror machines. They must hand over their weapons of destruction that are being held illegally. That would be required in any democratic society.”
Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president, and Mark Durkan, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party SDLP, have both urged the Government to restore devolution as soon as possible.
But Mr Murphy said he didn’t think the Government should rush to “unsuspend and restore now. That would not be wise.”
