David Trimble
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC, is a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Partyfrom 1995 to 2005. He was also the Member of Parliament for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and the Member of the Legislative Assemblyfor Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007. In 2006, he was made a life peer in the House of Lords and a year later left the...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth15 October 1944
CityBangor, Northern Ireland
CountryIreland
The important thing is that we get the matter resolved in a way that enables both sides to feel that their rights have been vindicated.
In all of this we have negotiated in good faith. It is now apparent that others have not,
Each of these steps takes a little bit of time, but we've made the significant step today at getting the process started, ... We've agreed on a program of work and indeed on the next meeting in this format which will be in June.
I hope we can actually bring about fairly soon a situation in Northern Ireland where everybody, even those who, at the moment, are skeptical of the process, can feel safe and confident.
I must make it clear that the calling of the meeting does not mean that we have committed ourselves to endorsing any set of proposals.
It was made clear to Sinn Fein again and again and again that this experiment, this risk that we were taking, would be time-limited and would not run beyond the end of January.
It will kill off this issue for a generation. I am quite sure the result would be an overwhelming endorsement of the Union.
We will of course be reflecting on all of the things that have been said in the debate and carrying through the tactics that have been outlined,
The prisoner releases are a difficult aspect of the situation.
We all knew that the agreement was not going to be a magic wand and ... that there are elements opposed to it. These elements will not succeed.
You cannot say that there is a peace agreement if some party has a private army armed to the teeth ready for action.
We have done our bit, Mr. Adams. It is over to you. We have jumped. You follow.
We have done and will continue to do everything we can to maximize the opportunity that's here for people. I hope we've gone over the Rubicon this time.
We want to ensure that nothing is imposed upon the people here, that their consent is paramount.