Northern Ireland's quibbling political parties gathered in Belfast on Wednesday for one last shot at forming a power-sharing government after a year of fruitless wrangling.
Britain's new Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, in post since January 8, has given the five main parties a brief window to get a devolved administration up and running.
Previous rounds of exhaustive talks have floundered, with several deadlines having come and gone.
Bradley said Thursday that the parties had "one last opportunity" to reach an agreement with a "short, intense" burst of talks.
In the absence of an executive, the British province has been run by civil servants over the past 12 months.
Failure to make "rapid progress" will mean the British government will set a budget for the new financial year, while fresh elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly -- last held in May 2016 and March 2017 -- would also be considered.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney is facilitating the talks alongside Bradley.
The two largest parties, the pro-British Democratic Unionists (DUP) and Irish republicans Sinn Fein, are at loggerheads over some final sticking points.
As the largest parties from each side of Northern Ireland's cultural divide, the Protestant, conservative DUP and Catholic leftists Sinn Fein are supposed to govern together under a power-sharing accord reached in 1998 to end three decades of violent conflict.
Sinn Fein brought down the semi-autonomous executive in January last year, pulling out citing a breakdown in trust.
- Blame game -
Both main parties blame the other for the paralysis.
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, said she would enter Wednesday's talks in "good faith".
"The executive could be in place tomorrow if the DUP blockade on basic rights, available everywhere else on these islands, was ended.
"Issues like marriage equality, an Irish language act, legacy inquests, rights, respect and integrity in government should not be politically contentious."
DUP leader Arlene Foster, in the same daily, wrote: "This should not be about party political shopping lists but about restoring fair and stable government for everyone.
"It is deeply disappointing that one party has blocked the establishment of a local executive.
"Those who wish to use their position to deliver cultural domination over one side of the community are mistaken."
Bradley is due to update the British parliament on progress no later than February 7.
If the stalemate persists, many Unionists have called for Northern Ireland to return to direct government from London.
Northern Ireland’s quibbling political parties gathered in Belfast on Wednesday for one last shot at forming a power-sharing government after a year of fruitless wrangling.
Britain’s new Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, in post since January 8, has given the five main parties a brief window to get a devolved administration up and running.
Previous rounds of exhaustive talks have floundered, with several deadlines having come and gone.
Bradley said Thursday that the parties had “one last opportunity” to reach an agreement with a “short, intense” burst of talks.
In the absence of an executive, the British province has been run by civil servants over the past 12 months.
Failure to make “rapid progress” will mean the British government will set a budget for the new financial year, while fresh elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly — last held in May 2016 and March 2017 — would also be considered.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney is facilitating the talks alongside Bradley.
The two largest parties, the pro-British Democratic Unionists (DUP) and Irish republicans Sinn Fein, are at loggerheads over some final sticking points.
As the largest parties from each side of Northern Ireland’s cultural divide, the Protestant, conservative DUP and Catholic leftists Sinn Fein are supposed to govern together under a power-sharing accord reached in 1998 to end three decades of violent conflict.
Sinn Fein brought down the semi-autonomous executive in January last year, pulling out citing a breakdown in trust.
– Blame game –
Both main parties blame the other for the paralysis.
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, said she would enter Wednesday’s talks in “good faith”.
“The executive could be in place tomorrow if the DUP blockade on basic rights, available everywhere else on these islands, was ended.
“Issues like marriage equality, an Irish language act, legacy inquests, rights, respect and integrity in government should not be politically contentious.”
DUP leader Arlene Foster, in the same daily, wrote: “This should not be about party political shopping lists but about restoring fair and stable government for everyone.
“It is deeply disappointing that one party has blocked the establishment of a local executive.
“Those who wish to use their position to deliver cultural domination over one side of the community are mistaken.”
Bradley is due to update the British parliament on progress no later than February 7.
If the stalemate persists, many Unionists have called for Northern Ireland to return to direct government from London.
