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N. Ireland rivals clinch historic self-rule deal

NORTHERN IRELAND: Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic leaders clinched a historic 11th-hour deal Monday to restore self-rule for the province, after unprecedented face-to-face talks.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the deal as opening a "new era" for the long-troubled province, even though it delays the resumption of self-rule by six weeks until May 8.

More than 3,000 people were killed in three decades of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland until the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.

Ian Paisley, firebrand leader of Protestant conservatives the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Gerry Adams, president of Catholic socialists Sinn Fein, struck the deal hours before a midnight deadline set by Britain to agree or see rule continue from London indefinitely.

Paisley and Adams were figureheads of Northern Ireland's sectarian divide and bitter foes throughout The Troubles.

The State Department in Washington described their meeting as "historic" and said the deal would allow Northern Ireland to restore self-rule.

"It is certainly a very positive step and one that moves the process forward. We welcome it and certainly hope to see that agreement now implemented," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Blair, who hopes his role in negotiating the province's future will form a cornerstone of his legacy once he leaves office this year, led praise for the deal.

"Everything we have done over the last 10 years has been a preparation for this moment," he said.

According to separate statements read out by Paisley and Adams - who sat inches apart but did not shake hands for the cameras - the parties will restore self-rule to Belfast on May 8, as proposed by the DUP.

Paisley wanted to delay the initial deadline due to DUP concerns over Sinn Fein's support for policing in Northern Ireland.

The 80-year-old preacher said that the province's leaders owed it to those who had died in "The Troubles" to build a better future.

"We must never forget those who have suffered during the dark period from which we are, please God, emerging," he said.

"We owe it to them to craft and build the best future possible and ensure there is genuine support for those who are still suffering."

In a speech punctuated with Gaelic, Adams added that the agreement "marks the beginning of a new era of politics on this island."

"The discussions and agreement between our two parties shows the potential of what can now be achieved," Adams said.

"We have all come a very long way in the process of peace making and national reconciliation."

Ireland's Belfast-born President Mary McAleese said an "extraordinary day" had seen the marking of a "profoundly important milestone on the journey towards lasting peace and reconciliation."

The British government had insisted that its original March 26 deadline was "set in stone" but the unprecedented meeting between the rival leaders prompted greater flexibility.

Emergency legislation was to be rushed through the British parliament in London on Tuesday to give effect to the Paisley-Adams deal.

The DUP has until now refused to speak to Sinn Fein, the political wing of the ex-paramilitary Irish Republican Army.

Paisley is now likely to become the province's first minister, with Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, as his probable deputy.

The Northern Ireland Assembly was created by the landmark 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which aimed to form the lasting settlement following paramilitary ceasefires. It has been suspended since October 2002 when allegations surfaced of a republican spy-ring operating at the Assembly buildings, and Northern Ireland has been governed directly from London ever since.

Blair and Ahern revived prospects for power-sharing in Northern Ireland with the so-called Saint Andrews Agreement in November last year.

A smiling British Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said Monday's accord was even better than he could have expected.

"If we had restored today it would have been rather grudging and difficult, and the executive would have stuttered into life," he said. The delay would allow the administration to be "really bedded down" when it assumed power, he added.

Belfast, Tuesday, AFP.

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