THE ATTITUDE of the nationalist parties to the proposed Northern Ireland forum could be, influenced, among other matters, by the continued non participation of unionists in the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said last night.
In a cautious response to the British government's election proposals, he said that Fianna Fail had never seen the necessity for an elective process and, indeed, saw many dangers in it.
"But the decision to participate in elections and to accept such a route to all party negotiations is matter for each of the Northern parties to decide", he said.
He was glad that the electoral system which had been chosen would at least allow the loyalist parties to participate in negotiations. "We share the opposition of Northern nationalist parties to the concession at this stage of an internal forum type body before talks start, even though it is apparently to be entirely separate and free standing from all party negotiations and not an obstruction to them."
Mr Ahern pointed out that there was another forum in existence, the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, which had already done a lot of work which could be useful to both the negotiations and questions relating to North South co operation. It might well be that the attitude of the nationalist parties to participation in the internal Northern forum would be influenced, among other things, by the continued non participation of the unionist parties, in any shape or form, in the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and the British Irish Parliamentary Body.
Fianna Fail was extremely did appointed that there had been no suggestion in Mr John Major's statement of placing the Joint Framework Document at the top of the agenda alongside the Mitchell report. Any attempt by the British government to go beyond the terms of the Mitchell report and insist that parallel decommissioning be addressed and settled prior to any other matter being discussed would be "doomed to failure".
"We strongly urge that there be no further acts of violence while the situation is being further studied and, if necessary, clarity sought on certain matters", Mr Ahern continued. "It is vitally important that the IRA ceasefire be reinstated as early as possible, on a lasting basis, so that there can be full and inclusive participation in all party negotiations. That is vital not just for the safety and welfare of all the people of Ireland, but also more particularly for the interests of nationalist Ireland."
The leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, said that every politician in the North should recognise that what people wanted most of all was a lasting peace. While Mr Major's proposals would not win any awards for "clear thinking", the important thing now was to start focusing on the sort of settlement which could transform Northern Ireland.
Ms Harney said that there should be a speedy restoration of the IRA ceasefire, a mature approach by all the parties to the forthcoming election and the attendance of all parties at the negotiations scheduled to begin on June 10th.
