Northern Ireland Peace Talks Hang in Balance as Leaders Weigh Excluding Sinn Fein

British and Irish leaders were entrenched in a heated debate over whether to expel the Sinn Fein party from the Northern Ireland peace talks in response to two killings blamed on the Irish Republican Army. The tensions pitted Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam against Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who insisted that his party was committed to the peace process. The talks, which began in June 1996 and were aimed at finding a way to govern Northern Ireland, were held at Dublin Castle behind closed doors.

Key Takeaways:

• The Northern Ireland peace talks, which began in June 1996, are on the brink of collapse due to a dispute over whether to exclude Sinn Fein from the talks.
• Two killings blamed on the Irish Republican Army have led to calls for Sinn Fein's expulsion, with Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam presenting a paper calling for the party to be barred from the talks.
• Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams insisted that his party was committed to the peace process, despite the allegations of IRA involvement in the killings.
• Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern stated that it was "regrettable" but necessary that the search for a compromise in Northern Ireland was being overshadowed by the debate over Sinn Fein's right to stay at the table.
• All participants in the talks must observe a formal renunciation of violence authored by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to avoid expulsion.

Statistics:

• The talks were scheduled to conclude by May, but their fate hangs in the balance.
• Two individuals, Robert Dougan and Brendan Campbell, were killed in incidents blamed on the IRA.
• The Ulster Defense Association, a major pro-British paramilitary group, was targeted in one of the killings.

Sources:

• "BBC News: Northern Ireland", 7 May 1998

(Note: This is the original source cited in the original text)