BELFAST, Northern Ireland () -- The U.S.-led commission tasked with promoting Northern Ireland peacemaking began meetings Friday behind closed doors.


Though the Irish Republican Army and pro-British "loyalists'' declared cease-fires last year, efforts to draw political leaders into negotiations have been stalled by demands that the extremist camps begin disposing of their guns, explosives and weapons-making material first.


"We recognize that the views of the parties are different, and that this body was created because those views could not be reconciled directly,'' said George Mitchell, a former U.S. senator who is leading the investigation into disarming the rival paramilitary groups.