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Sinn Fein says believes has basis for Northern Ireland deal
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Sinn Fein says believes has basis for Northern Ireland deal
Thu Feb 4, 2010 2:43pm EST
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by Ian Graham
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BELFAST (Reuters) - Sinn Fein said Thursday it had the basis for a deal to devolve police and justice powers to Belfast from London and end a lengthy row that has threatened to bring down Northern Ireland's government.
For nearly two weeks, the predominantly Roman Catholic Sinn Fein has been locked in talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), its power-sharing partner in the Northern Ireland Assembly, to forge an accord that would give Belfast its first justice minister.
The mainly Protestant DUP said any deal would need the approval of the party's membership and there were still some things to resolve.
"The talks are over and they (Sinn Fein) believe there was the basis for an agreement," Gerry Kelly, a Sinn Fein member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, told reporters.
"The negotiations have come to a conclusion. We believe that it is a positive conclusion and we believe it is the basis on which to move forward."
DUP leader Peter Robinson went for talks with Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as the DUP said it was tackling remaining issues.
"At this stage, we are dealing with some issues which are of considerable importance to ourselves and we will hopefully resolve these to our satisfaction," said Edwin Poots of the DUP.
Once that was achieved, he said a meeting of the party would be convened. There was no word on when that meeting, initially expected for late Thursday, would take place.
An agreement would mark one of the boldest steps since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that mostly ended three decades of sectarian violence, which cost 3,600 lives.
A definitive rift between Sinn Fein and the DUP would almost certainly trigger a snap election in the British province.
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Hopes have run high before that a deal was close only for the sides to announce problems remained. A difference this time is that Sinn Fein has said the talks are over.
The party, which wants to see Northern Ireland united with the Republic of Ireland and is keen for the police and justice powers to be devolved as soon as possible, has accused the DUP of stalling.
The DUP, which wants Northern Ireland to stay part of Britain, has denied the charge.
DUP leader Peter Robinson resumed his role as Northern Ireland's First Minister Wednesday, giving him more clout to spur on the devolution negotiations.
He had temporarily stepped aside to focus on an inquiry involving his wife, although he had still led the DUP's negotiating team.
The British and Irish prime ministers, who flew into Northern Ireland at the start of last week to broker crisis talks, would be expected to fly back to Northern Ireland in the event of a deal.
A spokesman for the Irish prime minister said there were no immediate plans for him to return to Belfast but that could change very quickly, while a Downing Street spokesman said only Britain's prime minister had no travel plans.
Talks have faltered over disagreement on a date for devolution and a parades commission to oversee marches, which are a long-standing, mainly Protestant tradition.
For all the difficulties, analysts have repeatedly predicted the two sides would somehow hammer out a deal, given how much both have invested.
They have also predicted any failure of the political system could lead to an increase in violence.
Northern Ireland's police watchdog Thursday said the threat from dissident republicans, who have increased activity over the past year, remained severe.
(Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Adrian Croft in London, writing by Barbara Lewis)
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