THE former peace talks chairman and US senator, Mr George Mitchell, has confirmed that he will not return to Northern Ireland for a third time to resolve the impasse over decommissioning and the suspension of the institutions.
"I have made it clear that while I am very deeply committed to the people and the cause there, I have now been involved for nearly five years and I simply have to devote some time to my family and to my business. I have to work to earn a living," he told RTE radio.
Mr Mitchell said he had informed President Clinton, as well as the British and Irish governments, of his decision not to return to Belfast. The US senator chaired both the negotiations which concluded in the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and last autumn's review which led to the setting up of the power-sharing executive.
Mr Mitchell said he was following developments "very closely" and was disappointed at the latest setback. "I confess that I follow it very closely and I have said publicly many times that a large part of my heart will always be in Northern Ireland. I feel very discouraged every time there is a setback and hope and pray for it to go forward." He would not comment on specifics, saying it would be "very unhelpful" for him to be drawn into the "blame-game".
"I think it best if I do not get involved in that level of specificity about current efforts to move the process forward . . . With regard to the paramilitaries, in my mind there is no basis for any individual or group to resort to violence to try and deal with the problem. The use of violence will not solve the political problems of Northern Ireland, it will only make them worse."
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, said while all pro-agreement parties would acknowledge Mr Mitchell's contribution, it was now down to the parties and the two governments to find their way back to a talks template.