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Writing Peace: The National Archives of the UK (TNA)

Enclosure: Record of a Butler/Nally Meeting on 6 October 1993

Friday, 01 October 1993

i22763

Key discussion points: how to manage Unionist opinion of a Joint Declaration: Irish anxious that the process would not depend on Molyneaux approval. British accepted but proposed a number of their own conditions: that the JDI be compatible with the Talks process, that Sinn Fein be thoroughly quarantined (following the end of violence) along their road to joining negotiations, and that the Irish government assure that the JDI would lead the PIRA to cease violence. Both sides perceived the Hume report to the Irish government, following his talks with Gerry Adams, as problematic for the JDI. The British perceived it as fatal. Differences remained over aspects of the new draft (JD10) that was discussed. Particularly, the British were nervous about the reference to the Irish constitution, and wanted more language pertaining to their own constitutional guarantee of the union. This latter point proved particularly thorny - debate continued over whether it mattered that the Provisionals did not accept the constitutional guarantee given the phrasing would frame it as a conviction only of the British government. The British framed this issue as crucial for the whole future process. The British are especially keen to retain plausible deniability of their involvement in the JDI should it go wrong (i.e. Loyalist backlash, failure to secure Provisional ceasefire).

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