DESPITE assurances by the Bandon Encounter Group that Sinn Fein had not been excluded because of a unionist veto, the UUP MP, Mr Ken Maginnis, said he and fellow unionist MP, Mr Willie Ross, would not have attended had any Sinn Fein representative been present.
Mr Maginnis said that now was not the time for any Sinn Fein representative, including Mr Gerry Adams, to be allowed a platform in "genial surroundings" to espouse his party's views. The purpose of the seminar, he added, was to allow a mellow exchange of views between different traditions, not to give Sinn Fein yet another opportunity to command media attention.
Sinn Fein representatives in West Cork, who had been excluded from the seminar, protested outside the venue on Saturday, and issued a statement saying that they failed to understand how a convention on reconciliation could go ahead without their participation.