TRIMBLE WANTS PATRICK'S PARTY AT WHITE HOUSE

[mrgorth]

TRIMBLE WANTS PATRICK'S PARTY AT WHITE HOUSE
02/11/05 06:52 EST

A White House St Patrick's Day snub to all Northern
Ireland's political parties would be "deeply insulting", UUP
leader David Trimble has warned.


The US government is considering not inviting any of the
Northern Irish parties to next month's reception.


It comes in the wake of the failure to broker a deal to
restore devolution and the allegations of IRA involvement in
December's Northern Bank raid.


US sources say the administration has not yet made its final
decision.


However, it is understood that officials are considering
whether to invite all the parties or none of them.


Mr Trimble said on Wednesday: "Punishing democrats for the
activities of paramilitary criminals, for fear of upsetting
their political bosses, sends out a very dangerous message
indeed."


He added: "Not only is this deeply insulting to the people
of Northern Ireland, it indicates how far behind, British,
Irish and American thinking the US government's assessment
of current events is."


DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson said excluding all
political parties would be "an outrageous punishment of the
innocent".


He said: "Why should democrats be penalised because of the
actions of the IRA?"


Political representatives from Northern Ireland have been a
fixture at the annual White House St Patrick's Day reception
since 1993 when then-President Bill Clinton invited them.


It is believed the White House will not take the action of
excluding Sinn Fein but inviting other politicians.


US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mitchell Reiss, who
recently announced that he will be leaving his post at the
State Department, discussed the arrangements for the
celebrations with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern in
Washington on Wednesday.

__________________________________________________________

The Irish American Information Service is a non-profit organization
providing up-to-the-minute political news from Ireland to the world.
The IAIS is funded entirely by your contributions. Please send your
tax-deductable contributions to IAIS at the 907 F st NE, Washington
DC 20002. You can visit us on the Web at http://www.iais.org