UK News 08-08-2001 IRA`s Peace Move Rejected who: Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble what: Demands action from IRA on decommissioning where: BELFAST when: Yesterday snippet: A new wave of pessimism has descended over the Irish peace process, says The Independent`s Ireland correspondent David McKittrick, "as republicans and Unionists showed themselves to be as far apart as ever on the key issues of decommissioning and policing." Despite the assessment from decommissioning chief General John de Chastelain on Monday that the IRA had started to put their weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use", Unionist leader David Trimble said it was not enough to convince him to return to his post as Northern Ireland`s first minister. Sinn Fein`s Martin McGuinness accused him of making a "grievous error of judgment" and said that Mr Trimble was "living in cloud cuckoo land" if he did not recognise the importance of the IRA`s compromise. "We have had a very significant and historic development," says Mr McGuinness, quoted in The Sun. "It`s now time for David Trimble to butt out." "The decommissioning deadlock has been exacerbated by continuing disagreements on policing," explains David McKittrick, "with the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour party [SDLP] saying it could not yet support the new police service." [... more]

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