P 031712Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL BELFAST
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1545
INFO AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY DUBLIN PRIORITY 
NSC WASHINGTON DC
AMCONSUL BELFAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L BELFAST 000088 
 
 
NOFORN 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE 
NSC FOR TOBIN BRADLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/3/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR UK EI
SUBJECT: NORTHERN IRELAND FIRST MINISTER ROBINSON AND DEPUTY FIRST 
MINISTER MCGUINNESS ON DEVOLUTION OF POLICING AND JUSTICE, NOVEMBER 
2, 2009 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Kamala S. Lakhdhir, Consul General, AmConsul 
Belfast, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
¶1. (C/NF) Summary:  Despite strong complaints regarding the 
behavior of the other and their respective parties, Northern 
Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister 
Martin McGuinness both agree that the financial piece of 
devolving policing and justice powers is complete, and are now 
meeting over remaining "community confidence" issues.  Chief 
among these at this point is the contentious issue of Orange 
Order parades and the altering of current structures to deal 
with them, with both sides wary of potential electoral 
consequences in their respective communities. Robinson indicated 
that Prime Minister Brown has presented a proposal for a way 
forward on parades, which includes a four-step transitional plan 
that the parties are currently discussing.  End Summary. 
 
 
¶2.  (C/NF)  On November 2, CG and Deputy CG met separately with 
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First 
Minister Martin McGuinness to review the status of talks on 
devolution of policing and justice.  McGuinness was accompanied 
by senior adviser Ciaran Quinn while Robinson was joined by 
political advisers Peter King and Richard Bullick.  Notably, 
Robinson and McGuiness and their senior advisers had met for 
over an hour to discuss devolution of policing and justice 
before meeting with the CG/Deputy CG. 
 
 
--------------------------- 
deputy FM Martin McGuinness 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C/NF) deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness began the 
meeting expressing dismay about HMG "side deals" with First 
Minister Robinson that McGuinness and Sinn Fein (SF) had not 
ostensibly been aware of.  Specifically, McGuinness objected to 
HMG's offer to provide a GBP 20 million payment to former 
part-time RUC police reservists.  According to McGuinness this 
payment is essentially an influx of cash to the Democratic 
Unionist Party (DUP) election coffers as it will help them get 
votes in next year's parliamentary elections.  He also strongly 
criticized HMG support for linking the issue of parades to 
transfer of powers for policing and justice.  McGuinness 
believes inferred UK support for the DUP's position on parades, 
including abolishing the parades commission, has brought the 
process to a "near meltdown," emphasizing that abolition of the 
parades commission would make the SF position untenable. 
Reiterating that an agreement on devolution must be concluded by 
Christmas, McGuinness warned that Robinson's insistence on a 
resolution of the parades issues as a pre-condition for 
devolution could ensure that it won't happen. 
 
 
¶4. (C/NF) McGuinness said that he had requested a telephone call 
with PM Brown the previous day, and said that he would be 
willing and able to travel to London to see the Prime Minister 
on November 3.  (Note:  McGuinness will be in London in transit 
to New York for a Friends of Sinn Fein fundraising event on 
November 4.  End Note.)  McGuinness said that he was scheduled 
to meet with UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shaun 
Woodward later on November 2 to discuss HMG's negotiations with 
Robinson.  McGuinness said he planned to tell Woodward that if 
there was to be any HMG representation on further parades 
discussions, he would demand that Irish Foreign Minister Micheal 
Martin be present as well. 
 
 
¶5. (C/NF) McGuinness reported that the DUP had offered that the 
DUP and Sinn Fein's advisors meet later in the week to discuss 
the parades issues and a possible future mechanism to manage 
this issue.  McGuinness confirmed that Sinn Fein had agreed to 
hold such talks. 
 
 
----------------------------- 
First Minister Peter Robinson 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C/NF) Robinson began the meeting expressing deep frustration 
with Sinn Fein's behavior during the negotiations on devolution, 
noting that among other transgressions, SF had committed a 
process foul when it "leapfrogged" over identification of a 
future Justice Minister and his responsibilities to focus 
exclusively on the financial issues.  Now that financial 
questions have been resolved, Sinn Fein still is not dealing 
with the critical issue of ensuring that the future Justice 
Minister has in place a decision-making process that gives him 
adequate autonomy.  (Consulate Note:  The basic DUP-SF dispute 
here is how involved the OFM/dFM Executive will be in the 
Justice Ministry's decision-making.  Robinson has insisted that 
the Justice Minister should act more independently than other 
ministries, i.e. without required guidance from OFM/dFM. 
Politically, this would allow the DUP to distance itself from 
unpopular decisions as well as claim to its base that it ensured 
SF has no part in controlling the Justice Ministry. McGuinness 
and SF have insisted that OFM/dFM oversight of the Justice 
Ministry should be the same as for other ministries.  End note.) 
 
 
¶7.  (C/NF) Robinson confirmed that the likely Justice Minister 
will be Alliance party leader David Ford and that the DUP and 
Sinn Fein have met with Ford and other senior Alliance members 
to discuss the set up of the new ministry.  Robinson complained 
that McGuinness and his representatives had only joined one of 
three meetings that had been held with Ford.  He said that Ford 
is seeking a cross-party agreement on a policy program for 
policing and justice and endorsement of a shared future 
initiative as conditions of his taking the Justice Minister post. 
 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) Turning to parading, Robinson questioned McGuinness 
and Sinn Fein's objections to linkage between devolution and 
parades, emphasizing that Sinn Fein was the first to link the 
two issues when it refused to agree to the formal issuance of 
the Ashdown report or moving forward on the parades issue until 
devolution was completed.  While acknowledging that Sinn Fein 
had political reasons for delaying action on parades, Robinson 
questioned why the party would now argue that linkage was 
unacceptable.  The DUP had also made it clear to all parties 
that parading was an essential component of "community 
confidence" related to devolution.  The DUP had in fact been out 
ahead of the Unionist community in trying to resolve the issue, 
Robinson claimed, adding that parades have more of an impact on 
the ground than the broader issue of devolving policing and 
justice. 
 
 
¶9.  (C/NF) Robinson indicated that Prime Minister Brown has 
presented a proposal for a way forward on parades, which 
includes a four-step transitional plan: 
 
Step 1: Ashdown report and recommendations are formally adopted, 
published, and accepted by parties and HMG. 
 
Step 2: The parties agree that the parades commission will exist 
for another twelve months, i.e. through the 2010 marching season. 
 
Step 3: The parties agree to establish a "contentious parades" 
group with cross-community representation to consider how to 
manage the approximately five most contentious parades. 
 
Step 4: The group will publish a "process paper" that lays out a 
framework for dealing with contentious parades. 
 
 
¶10.  (C/NF) Robinson noted that Brown's proposal wouldn't be 
enough for broad DUP support (i.e. it doesn't immediately 
abolish the parades commission and will be viewed as giving too 
much input to nationalists on parades), but added he "may be 
able to get the party behind it."  He also acknowledged that 
Sinn Fein's rank and file may also object to aspects of the 
proposal but again could be convinced to accept it.  Regarding 
the Orange Order, Robinson reported that Order's leadership has 
told him privately that the removal of the parades commission 
would allow them to change its policy of not meeting with Sinn 
Fein on parades.  He said that some of the local lodges have 
already begun to do so.  Robinson concluded that DUP and Sinn 
Fein still "require some facilitation to reach agreements on 
parades."  He suggested that PM Brown and/or Woodward will need 
to convene discussions on this issue.  Robinson concluded by 
insisting that contrary to those that question whether he is 
seeking to derail or postpone devolution, he has no political 
interest in not seeing devolution occur at this point.  Many in 
the Unionist community recognize that the Brown package will 
provide additional financial support for policing and justice 
programs, Robinson emphasized, and that he would be foolish to 
abandon it. 
 
 
LAKHDHIR