BELFAST -- Protestant and Catholic politicians began frantic attempts on Monday to implement Northern Ireland's peace accord, knowing failure could trigger renewed bloodshed.
Such is the importance attached to implementing the peace deal signed last Good Friday in time for Easter Sunday this year that British Prime Minister Tony Blair was poised to fly in later on Monday despite his involvement in NATO action against Yugoslavia.Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who chaired nearly two years of talks that produced the Good Friday accord, reminded politicians what was at stake.
"It is no exaggeration to say that what they do or don't do will mean life or death for many of their fellow citizens," Mitchell said in Washington on Sunday.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who is expected to join Blair in Belfast in trying to end a deadlock over guerrilla disarmament, said he was not certain of success.
"I would be very disappointed if we cannot overcome the obstacles. Whether we can do that this week or not, I am not sure," he told reporters in Dublin.
Britain's minister running the province, Mo Mowlam, set this week as the final deadline for a transfer of some home-rule.
She said she would start moves to set up a coalition cabinet when Belfast's assembly meets on Wednesday or Thursday even if the parties fail to reach a compromise, a step pro-British gunmen have signaled might threaten their 1994 truce.
Failure to reach an agreement among the politicians could also trigger a crisis in the assembly over who should sit in a 10-member ruling executive, the linchpin of the province's new political structure.
Some politicians in Belfast believe a history of moveable deadlines will be repeated and Mowlam will be forced to delay.
Blair and Ahern hope to settle a row over whether Sinn Fein, political wing of the Irish Republican Army, should get its two seats in the cabinet even before its IRA allies disarm. Mitchell has said he is willing to return to Belfast to help end the deadlock.
Last year, pro-British Protestants and Roman Catholic Irish nationalists signed the deal to end nearly 30 years of conflict over the future of Britain's role on the divided island.