Ceasefire sole reason for talks with SF, says Ahern

THE Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, has said the only point of a further meeting with Sinn Fein would be to discuss plans for the "unequivocal restoration of the ceasefire".

Speaking after a meeting yesterday morning with the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, Mr Ahern said if there were no positive proposals for a ceasefire, there would be no point in another meeting. He added that he and Mr Hume had discussed moving the process in "another direction" if necessary.

Mr Hume reiterated his intention to do "everything in my power" to end violence in the North. He refused to rule out meetings with Sinn Fein unless it became clear that the IRA was totally committed to a continuation of violence. However, he said government contact with the republican movement was a different issue.

Both men said their meeting at Mr Ahern's constituency office in Drumcondra Road, Dublin, had been "very successful", but their mood was sombre when they emerged to talk to reporters.

The meeting was also attended by the SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, and by Fianna Fail's Mr Dermot Ahern, Mr Ray Burke, Dr Rory O'Hanlon and Dr Martin Mansergh.

Asked if he was still prepared to meet Sinn Fein, the Fianna Fail leader said: "If the issue was talking about the unequivocal restoration of the ceasefire, then we would talk. If the issue was to just continue going around the houses and not making progress, then there's no point in the meeting."

He did not know whether Mr Gerry Adams had the ability to deliver an IRA ceasefire, but said that this and subsequent inclusive talks remained the objective.

"We're clear in our mind that we can achieve that, but there are some other people who have to clear their positions.

If it became evident that a ceasefire was not forthcoming, he added, they would move in another direction. "We discussed this this morning, and if people are not coming with us we'll move forward. We're not going to sit around here waiting for something that's never going to come."

Speaking later on RTE, Mr Hume said the timing and location of the Lurgan murders begged questions. "What is strange about these particular killings is both the timing and the geography, taking place in the Lurgan/Portadown area where the tensions are already high because of the marching season.

One interpretation was that the killings were designed to increase that tension. A second, he suggested, could be that the murders were "a statement from a section of the IRA who don't want the peace that a majority of their members want".