Word: fein
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...over the appointment of a judge accused of delaying the extradition of a priest charged with child molestation in Northern Ireland. If a new prime minister satisfactory to Labour cannot be found, national elections would then be held, delaying the peace that started with September's cease-fire. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams urged a quick solution since any protracted power struggle could "diffuse the momentum that has been built up."Post your opinion on theInternationalbulletin board...
...Ireland peace process further by announcing that talks could start before Christmas. Calling the quiet of the Irish Republican Army's guns "more compelling than words," Prime Minister John Major explained that the seven-week-old cease-fire was enough for British officials to begin preliminary talks with Sinn Fein, the I.R.A.'s political wing. Major also lifted travel restrictions within Britain on two top Sinn Fein leaders and said all border crossings with the Republic of Ireland will be opened...
Enormous obstacles remain, of course. Politically, the two camps are as bitterly opposed as ever, with the I.R.A. and its political wing Sinn Fein demanding a united Ireland -- whatever the 1 million-member Protestant majority in Northern Ireland says. Many Unionists envision only marginal changes in the status quo, with perhaps some sort of regional assembly holding limited powers under London's supervision...
With peace breaking out all over Northern Ireland, British PM John Major apparently couldn't resist the overtures of the Irish Republican Army and agreed to start holding talks with the IRA's Sinn Fein. Earlier on, Major had insisted that the IRA clarify that their Aug. 31 cease-fire was indeed permanent -- a stance that was widely viewed as unnecessarily obstinate and taken to placate pro-British loyalists. When the IRA's chief antagonists, the Ulster Loyalists, followed up with a similar declaration on Oct. 13, "that gave Major the signal that he could go ahead," says TIME London...
This now leaves British Prime Minister John Major in the uncomfortable position of being the only one openly skeptical about the peace process, notes TIME London reporter Helen Gibson. Major has so far insisted that the I.R.A. add the word permanent to its cease-fire declaration -- something that Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams refuses to do. Now, with Sinn Fein's mortal enemies effectively accepting the I.R.A.'s word, "it's ratcheted up the pressure on Major," says Gibson. "It's just a matter of time before he gives...