Il DUP “avvelena i colloqui” dice lo Sinn Fein

DUP ‘corrupting policing talks’

Sinn Fein has accused the DUP of corrupting negotiations to devolve policing powers to Stormont by introducing parades as another pre-condition to the move.

Republicans reacted angrily to Peter Robinson’s assertion that the DUP would only agree to transfer law and order responsibilities from Westminster if changes were made to the current process of managing parades.

Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd said Mr Robinson’s demand was an attempt to erect another obstacle in the way of a deal after outstanding financial issues were resolved last week, when Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a £1bn package to support the region’s new justice department.

“What the DUP are doing is corrupting the political process by bringing in yet another pre-condition,” he said.

He said the issue of parades was not directly linked to policing and justice devolution.

“Policing and justice is a standalone issue,” he added.

“The budget has been sorted out – Peter Robinson told us in New York (earlier this month) that once the budget was sorted he would come back and he would fulfill his part of the agreement and here we have what appears to be another pre-condition placed on the table.”

The DUP said the parading issue is one of a number of “confidence building measures” it has called for from the outset of negotiations.

A review of parading in Northern Ireland is currently being carried out by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown.

Lord Ashdown has made interim recommendations that would see local councils take over the responsibility for managing parades from the existing Parades Commission.

Mr Robinson, who wants to see the commission scrapped, told the House of Commons on Tuesday night that it was essential to find an agreed way forward on parading before devolution could take place.

He also accused Sinn Fein of blocking the publication of Lord Ashdown’s final report.

In a DUP-led debate in Westminster, the First Minister claimed the commission was “not a solution to problems but part of the problem itself.”

SDLP leader Mark Durkan accused both the DUP and Sinn Fein of politicising the issues.

The Foyle MP, who took part in the DUP’s Westminster debate, said this was a dangerous route to take.

“The Parades Commission or its various agents may not have got all its decisions or processes right,” he said.

“But they have broadly succeeded in making sure that politics and policing have been earthed from the convulsions that surround parades.”