THE multi-party talks were yesterday adjourned until next week, with the chairman, Mr George Mitchell, indicating that if there is no agreement on decommissioning he may put forward his own proposals on the issue.
The talks have been bogged down over the decommissioning issue for a number of weeks, with little prospect of any movement until it is clearly defined whether there can be any new IRA ceasefire.
The SDLP, with the support of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and other parties, has blocked attempts by the DUP and the UK Unionist Party to pass a motion which would demand prior decommissioning before political representatives of the paramilitaries could proceed to substantive talks.
The UUP, while sympathetic to the thrust of the DUP/UK Unionist motions, tactically does not yet want such a decision on decommissioning because it believes it would lead to the collapse of the talks, for which it would be blamed.
The SDLP, the Alliance Party, and the fringe loyalist parties, however, want decommissioning sidelined as an effective fourth strand of the talks, so that substantive talks can proceed in parallel.
The SDLP is also eager to create a situation in which, in the event of an IRA ceasefire, Sinn Fein could quickly enter talks without any precondition on decommissioning.
One source said yesterday that former US senator Mr Mitchell has indicated that if the decommissioning deadlock is not soon broken he may put forward his own ideas on how a breakthrough might be achieved.
