THE SDLP leader said he hoped that the commission's report would be a "major means" of breaking the political logjam. However, he trenchantly opposed Mr John Major's suggestion of establishing an elected assembly.
Mr John Hume, in his initial response to the report, said his party would give it careful consideration. He particularly welcomed the six principles demanding a commitment to democracy and non violence from all parties.
He said that some parties were not prepared to accept that central to the dialogue between the SDLP, the Irish Government and Sinn Fein was an agreed commitment to similar principles.
"The people who were not convinced of that commitment were the same people who were not convinced that the cease fires were genuine. They were the same people who were saying that the cease fires would not last a month, and that they wouldn't last three months, and so on and so forth.
"I get the impression sometimes that there are people who do not want peace because they are much more comfortable with the politics of violence," Mr Hume added.
Mr Hume said the SDLP was opposed to a new elected body and had made its position on the issue very clear.
The SDLP chairman, Mr Jonathan Stephenson, said last night that he regretted the British Prime Minister's "hasty endorsement of a very one sided approach to the way forward". In a statement, Mr Stephenson said the political track of the twin track process had been due to run until February, according to the Joint Communique' of November 28th.
"John Major seems to have aborted that process without allowing the preliminary talks between the governments and the parties any time to consider either the Mitchell report or any proposal for an elected body.
Mr Stephenson said Mr Major appeared to be brushing aside a central conclusion of the Mitchell report, that decommissioning while all party talks began was a reasonable compromise. "His statement was brusque and unfortunate and needs urgent clarification," said Mr Stephenson.
Mr Seamus Mallon, the SDLP deputy leader, said the report provided "very honest proposals" which allowed for a compromise to break the deadlock caused by the decommissioning issue.
He said the wording of the six principles in the report were very positive and proactive and they left no doubt about the required commitments to democracy and non violence from all parties.
Speaking before Mr Major's Westminster comments, Mr Mallon noted that the reference to an elected body in the commission's report referred to a body that would be "badly acceptable", had an appropriate mandate and operated within the three strand approach. With such conditions firmly in place, Mr Mallon suggested that the SDLP would at least consider whatever proposals were put forward, as long as they were put forward in terms of the twin track approach.
Mr Mark Durkan, the former SDLP chairman, said that republican and loyalist paramilitaries had got a very fair hearing in the Mitchell report. Equally, they must now take account of the fact that other views must be considered as valid as well.
He said he believed that Sinn Fein and the loyalist representatives in all party talks should be prepared to consider influencing the paramilitaries to decommission during negotiations.
