THE DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has accused both the Conservative and the British Labour parties of betraying Northern Ireland, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of embarking upon a strategy of "folly and failure". He was speaking as he launched his party's election manifesto in Belfast yesterday.
Dr Paisley said both the British and Irish governments were planning to force Irish unity on unionists and that this policy had been endorsed by the British Labour Party.
His party had tried to encourage unionist unity against the "pan nationalist conspiracy" but the Ulster Unionists preferred secret negotiations and deals with the SDLP, Dublin and London.
The DUP is claiming that the Stormont talks will be based on the Downing Street Declaration and Framework Documents which offer a united Ireland by stages. The party is pledging not to return to the negotiations unless the Forum is restored. The manifesto also calls for the British government to pursue a strong policy against the paramilitaries and demands that Sinn Fein be barred from talks until the IRA hands over its weapons.
"What is needed is defeat of armed terrorists, not an accommodation with them, it says.
The manifesto was critical of the Ulster Unionist Party which it accused of a "catastrophic lack of foresight, bad judgment and weakness". It claimed that the DUP was the only party which could safeguard the union with a "strong, safe and sure voice" and which was not "in the pocket" of either Labour or the Conservatives.
The DUP is set to publish policy documents every day until the election on issues such as health, education, agriculture and the economy.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein's candidate in north Belfast, Mr Gerry Kelly, has said that his party is doing everything possible to rebuild the peace process and was committed to dialogue as the only means by which this conflict can be resolved and a peace settlement achieved".
Republicans should be admitted to talks as soon as possible, he said. "In May last year, Sinn Fein received teas of thousands of votes and that democratic mandate was ignored. This May, Sinn Fein will again receive tens of thousands of votes. These cannot be ignored."