By Brendan Anderson

A history-making peace deal which would copper-fasten a lasting power-sharing government in the North has been scuppered by hard-line Unionist demands, Sinn Fein claims. 

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams revealed Tuesday that the IRA has refused hard-line Loyalist demands for photographs of the destruction of Republican weapons destruction as “insulting and humiliating.”

The message was conveyed to Adams and Martin McGuinness during a meeting between the senior Sinn Fein men and the IRA leadership. It has also transpired that the IRA recently met, and is continuing to meet, the Independent International Decommissioning Commission (IIDC) headed by Canadian General John de Chastelain, who has already overseen three previous acts of IRA arms decommissioning.

Photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning was one of the demands made by Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as a condition for agreeing to sit in power-sharing government with Sinn Fein.

But Paisley’s insulting language towards Republicans and “unrealistic demands” proved Tuesday to be the deal-breaker for this particular phase of the Irish peace process.

After breaking the grim news at a press conference, Adams maintained that the IRA was prepared to make “huge and significant moves” in the interests of those Unionists “with genuine concerns.”

“I recognize that some Unionists do have genuine concerns about verification of arms being put beyond use, but Ian Paisley has to recognize also that the IRA will not submit to a process of humiliation,” Adams said.

“I do not expect Ian Paisley or the DUP or the Unionist paramilitaries to submit to such a process of humiliation,” he said.

Adams would not give details of the moves, saying that the IRA rank and file membership had yet to be informed. Some of the proposals, however, may be revealed Wednesday when the Irish and British prime ministers travel to Belfast. 

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had hoped to be announcing the return of devolved government to the North. The two leaders said they would still go to Belfast where they will publish proposals hammered out in their recent negotiations. 

The intention is to let the public see what is on offer if the DUP and Sinn Fein agree to sign up to the deal. Adams has already recommended Sinn Fein to commit to the proposals. 

The contentious issue of policing also appeared to be on the verge of being settled. Republicans have huge problems in accepting the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, but Adams confirmed that if and when a special Ard Fheis (party conference) is called to discuss the subject, he will recommend Sinn Fein’s acceptance of the service.

The Ahern-Blair proposals may also show what is now common knowledge, that the IRA is willing to permit two clergymen, a Catholic priest and a Protestant vicar, to accompany de Chastelain to witness the decommissioning of weapons. 

Observers predict that it would probably be the largest and final act of Republican decommissioning. All of this, along with the voluntary standing-down of the IRA, make for an extremely attractive package for Unionists.

Ahern is particularly keen to have the proposals made public. He has been taking heavy flak from political opponents for agreeing to release four IRA prisoners if the organization disbands and destroys its weapons. 

The four men were convicted of the manslaughter of a police officer in the Republic during a botched robbery in 1996. The Irish government, under pressure from opposition parties and police representative bodies, dismissed Sinn Fein claims that the men were entitled to early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. 

Ahern is convinced that Sinn Fein acceptance of the Irish-British proposals represents such a good deal for the peace process that the release of the men would be justified.

Paisley’s insistence on “humiliating the IRA,” as he put it more than once, is regarded by many as a tremendous pity because almost all of the outstanding issues separating the DUP and Sinn Fein have been resolved. 

On Monday the DUP leader admitted “agreement was close” but again demanded photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning. 

He added, “If you sin publicly, you have to repent publicly. There’s nothing wrong with asking a terrorist to surrender his weapon. And there’s nothing wrong with asking a person who has been guilty of organizing mass murder through the country and trying to commit genocide of the whole Protestant population of the border, to say, give it up.”

Adams on Tuesday appealed for the DUP to “be given a little more space” to ponder the governments’ proposals and the IRA’s offer. The DUP and Sinn Fein have been given a deadline of 6 p.m. on Wednesday to give their answer on whether they would sign up to the proposals, but DUP acquiescence now looks unlikely. 

Ahern and Blair, for their part, have not given up hope that a deal may still be salvaged. Both have said they will continue to push for a deal which would restore power-sharing government.