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BELFAST - The British Government and Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are negotiating a face-saving deal that may lead to power-sharing within six weeks and save the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Yesterday the DUP urged the Government to push emergency legislation through Parliament that will enable the north of Ireland's two major parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, to bring back the assembly, promptly suspend it and then finally establish power-sharing in May.
The demand was made after 90 per cent of the party's 120 executives backed the plan at a meeting in Belfast.
But Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain stressed yesterday that he was serious about dissolving the current assembly if power-sharing was not agreed by today.
"The Government's position is consistent and unchanged," Hain said. "We have not agreed to emergency legislation. If the March 26 deadline does not happen, the assembly will dissolve. And after that the parties will have to come back to us with an agreed position before we can move forward. How long that takes is up to them. In the meantime, direct rule will continue."
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