THE BRITISH and Irish governments should agree and propose a political solution to the Northern Ireland problem because all party talks are unlikely to produce one, according to the SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon.
Such a solution, based on thee Framework Document, should then be put to the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic in separate referendums, Mr Mallon said. Such action would concentrate the minds of the people and the political parties, he said, and end the stalling and intransigence which have characterised politics in Northern Ireland.
"I would much prefer as a democratic politician to be able to say that I believe all party negotiations will be such as to produce solutions that can then be put to the governments. I can't say that honestly," he told a lunch hosted by the Association of European Journalists in Dublin.
"We can't go on with the stalling and intransigence we have seen. The two governments must spearhead a proposition to be put to the people of Ireland, North and South, as is contained in the Framework Document. They should put the question and let the people answer. That would concentrate the minds not just of the people but of the political parties.
"The responsibility lies with the sovereign Irish Government and the sovereign British government to assume the responsibility that is in the joint Framework Document, the Anglo Irish Agreement and even before that in the Sunningdale Agreement. That pro activity could lift this thing from the mess it is in," he said.
His pessimism about the ability of the talks to come up with a deal was based on an examination of the future possibilities, he said. One possibility was that "Sinn Fein can gather up enough courage to come in and negotiate. Then it is almost inevitable for some of the unionist parties to get out." This would lead to a period of parties leaving, joining and leaving the talks again, he said.
He accused Sinn Fein of "arch hypocrisy" in demanding an electoral pact with the SDLP for the forthcoming Westminster election campaign.