Adams calls for Assembly move

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has urged the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the Prime Minister Tony Blair to get the Northern Ireland assembly up and running before the province's marching season.

Outlining a strategy for ending the current political impasse, Mr Adams said: "This involves the two governments meeting the parties and setting out a timetable by which suspension will be lifted and an Executive formed. This should be completed before the summer and well in advance of the loyalist marching season.

"If the DUP rejects this then the two governments should, on the basis of joint government decision making, get on with delivering those many parts of the Good Friday Agreement that they have direct responsibility for."

Ahead of the premieres' meeting tomorrow Mr Adams said he had written to both Prime Ministers.

He said: "The stated objective of the current talks is to get the political institutions up and running as quickly as possible and involving all of the parties. This is the position of the Irish and British governments, Sinn Féin and all of the other parties with the exception of the DUP. The challenge is how to achieve this and what should happen if this objective cannot be realised.

“In my view the governments accept that the current talks are going nowhere. The cancellation of Mr Blair’s recently scheduled speech and the postponement of tomorrow’s talks at Stormont is evidence of that.

“Tomorrow’s summit at Downing Street could be an opportunity to rectify this.

“But shadow boxing with the DUP – marking time – maintaining an Assembly that is prevented from functioning - seeking to exclude Sinn Féin from talks - or entertaining the establishment of political institutions which fall far short of the Good Friday Agreement, is not the way forward."

Talks scheduled to be held between Political Development Minister David Hanson in Stormont on Wednesday have been postponed.

Prior to Wednesday's meeting between Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair, an prospects of an announcement has been played down by Downing Street.

The DUP refused to take part in any talks that involve Republic of Ireland ministers.

The biggest Unionist party is holding out for a number of "conditions" to be met and will not be pressured into meeting a devolution deadline imposed by either government.

(SP/GB)