A "creative" formula that would allow a visual aspect to IRA decommissioning that would satisfy the DUP but could be tolerated by the IRA could yet break the political deadlock, the Irish and British governments hope. Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor, reports.
The IRA has accepted a proposal to allow a representative from the Catholic and Protestant churches to join with decommissioning chief Gen John de Chastelain in overseeing future acts of IRA disarmament, according to informed sources.
The Irish Times has learned that Dublin and London are hoping that republicans will go one step further by endorsing a "post-dated" clause to the governments' blueprint to end the stalemate. This, if accepted, would mean that some unionists would in the future be shown visual evidence of IRA decommissioning.
Sinn Féin's reaction in the recent behind-the-scenes negotiations was to reject this proposal but the governments appear prepared to take the risk that it might change its mind in the coming 10 days.
Such visual evidence would most likely be by still photographs rather than video. The proposal would appear to meet the DUP's central demand for "visual" decommissioning.
Crucially, it is understood, however, that such photographs would only be produced, most likely privately, when it was absolutely clear that the DUP was sharing power with nationalists and was fully working all the institutions of the Belfast Agreement, including the North-South element so vital to nationalists.
The Irish and British governments view the IRA's agreement to allow independent Catholic and Protestant church people witness with Gen de Chastelain future IRA acts of decommissioning as constituting major progress.
The IRA accepting independent witnesses to future disarmament events is conditional on the DUP agreeing to share power with Sinn Féin, sources stressed.
Senior DUP sources last night also saw the proposal for church witnesses to disarmament as a considerable advance on its verification requirement.
The same sources, however, were adamant that the requirement of a visual aspect to disarmament still remained, although there were hints that "creative" ideas such as those expected to be in the governments' paper today might be accepted.
Dublin and London, based on their negotiations with the DUP, are convinced that the only hope of the Rev Ian Paisley accepting a deal, either before or after a British general election, rests on such a future, conditional visual aspect to disarmament.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Dublin and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in Downing Street respectively will attempt to convince Sinn Féin and the DUP that the proposals to restore the Northern Executive and Assembly are a fair compromise.
They will present their paper to the parties in the afternoon.
The biggest challenge will be for Mr Ahern to convince Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams and chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness that this is a reasonable deal.
The Taoiseach made it clear last week that there must be no attempt to "humiliate" the IRA in future decommissioning. His task will be to persuade senior republicans that the compromise of some unionists, sometime in the future, seeing photographic evidence of IRA weapons being put beyond use is sensible, necessary and even-handed and is not designed to embarrass the IRA.
A definitive response is not expected today. Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will be studying the initial detail and tenor of Mr Adams's remarks this evening - if he gives a press conference after meeting the Taoiseach - for evidence of how the proposals might finally fare with republicans.
Other elements of the proposals on issues such as ministerial accountability, devolving to the Assembly responsibility for policing and criminal justice, and how the First and Deputy First Minister are elected will cause "pain and gain" for all sides, according to well-placed sources.