THE Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, has urged the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, to tell the IRA whether he would treat a new ceasefire the same way as the last one. Mr Adams writes "the IRA leadership once bitten appears to be twice shy".
In a column to be published today in the Irish Voice, he appears hopeful that the gap between the IRA and the British government "can be narrowed".
After accusing the government of "bad faith" during the 18 months of the last ceasefire, Mr Adams writes. "But the British government writes that there cannot be real all party talks unless there is another IRA cessation. From my contact with the IRA it appears to me that the question that John Major must answer is would he treat another IRA cessation the same as the last one?
"That is the nub the core of the current difficulties facing those of us who are endeavouring to restore the peace process. The IRA leadership once bitten appears to be twice shy."
Mr Adams writes that "the gap between the IRA leadership and the British government must be narrowed. It is obvious that they distrust each other".
But he expresses understanding for the British difficulties in the aftermath of the Manchester and German bombings. "It is obvious that each from their opposite perspectives feel that they have good reason for distrusting each other. If this wasn't the case, we wouldn't have a conflict and we wouldn't need to restore the peace process. But we do and this core issue of British policy must be the focus of all our endeavours."
The Sinn Fein leader writes that he realises that some of the Irish Voice readers cannot be blamed "especially those who stuck their" necks out against the old ways of exclusion and marginalisation if they feel that all is now lost".
"But it isn't lost. At least not yet. The opportunity to make peace may be battered and bruised but it hasn't gone away, you know." This seems to be a deliberate echo of Mr Adams's widely reported comment last year when he told a cheering crowd that the IRA "has not gone away, you know".
While accusing Mr Major of not having done enough to restore the ceasefire, Mr Adams writes "none of us have done enough. Events of recent weeks, including IRA operations, present difficulties.
"But these can be overcome if there is a political will to tackle the issues which are at the root of all of this."
Responding to Mr Adams's assertions in Northern Ireland yesterday, the Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Willie Ross, said it was disgraceful to blame anyone other than the IRA for the ceasefire breakdown. The onus was on the IRA, and not the British government, to change tack, he said.
"The unionist people of Northern Ireland want a real and permanent ceasefire, the decommissioning of weapons and the dismantling of the structure of the IRA," he said.
The DUP secretary, Mr Nigel Dodds, said it was contemptible that Sinn Fein should be posing questions to the governments. "It's they who should be answering the questions like why will they not abide by the democratic process like everyone else," he added.