THE resumption of IRA violence had put the Sinn Fein leadership in a very difficult position, the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said last night.
Mr Ahern told The Irish Times he hoped the two parties could meet this week. "We will be making whatever effort we can to try to see if Sinn Fein can play some role in bringing the ceasefire back. What we are concerned about is the escalation of violence. It must immediately stop. We will be putting our views strongly on the whole situation to Sinn Fein and listening to see if there's anything we can usefully do at this stage."
There seemed to be "no doubt" that Sinn Fein had been overruled by IRA hard liners. "The Sinn Fein leadership are stating that they want to see the peace process rescued and they want to see it go forward and, even after the first bombing occurred, they seemed keen to try to get the whole thing back on the rails again. Obviously they are not informed of the developments as they go on.
Fianna Fail still believed strongly the Mitchell report on decommissioning formed the basis for moving matters forward. "That is, of course, if anyone can carry any influence with the IRA Army Council. I'm sure I don't and I don't know who does but we all have to keep on trying."
Referring to proposals that internment be introduced and the Section 31 broadcasting ban reimposed on Sinn Fein he said "Neither of those would be helpful at this stage."
Addressing a party meeting in the Dublin North constituency, Mr Ahern said many in Sinn Fein could see the long term potential of the peace process even if short term political progress was far too slow.
"The years of work they courageously punt into the peace process, and into the effort to build a democratic consensus for peace among all nationalists has been undone in a moment by bombs, without any adequate justification or explanation"
Describing the London bombs as a human tragedy, he added "They are also politically stupid and economically suicidal.
"It is very sad that all the patient effort put by 59 many people into the peace process over many years, particularly by John Hume, the Sinn Fein leadership and by Fianna Fail, has now apparently been set aside."
He said Senator George Mitchell "may still have a vital role as a peace envoy in securing the foundations of peace with the help of his excellent report".
The Fianna Fail leadership discussed the peace process for an hour with a delegation from the Workers Party at the forum offices in Dublin Castle yesterday.
Mr David Andrews, FF spokesman on tourism and trade, met Mr Martin McGuinness, a member of the Sinn Fein ard comhairle, in Derry at the weekend and will be reporting the results of the meeting to the party's front bench.
Mr Ahern was also talking to leaders of the loyalist parties "into the early hours of the morning yesterday. "They have been very responsible over the past 18 months, and especially the last few weeks." He said he so hoped to meet them this week, along with Northern religious and community leaders, to pursue ways to restore peace.
"The strategy of Fianna Fail is to keep the lines of communication open to anyone trying to rescue the peace process, said Mr Ahern. "We understand the Government position about meetings with Sinn Fein. We have more freedom.
"At this stage we are trying to get Sinn Fein to use their offices to rescue the peace process."
He added that the Government should pay particular attention 19 keeping the channels of communication open to the loyalist leaders.
Suzanne Breen, in Belfast, writes
The Irish Republican Socialist Party, the INLA's political wing, is to meet Mr Ahern in Leinster House tomorrow. The IRSP said the meeting had been organised at Mr Ahern's request. The five member IRSP delegation will be led by a party ard comhairle member, Mr Kevin McQuillan.
We will be discussing the peace process in general, the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire, and the very real danger of a full scale resumption of violent conflict in the North," he said. It is believed several members of Fianna Fail's front bench will be present at the meeting, which is scheduled to start at 3.30 p.m.
The INLA is the only paramilitary group in the North not to have called a ceasefire, although it has engaged in a de facto suspension of violence for the past 19 months. Its chief of staff, Mr Gino Gallagher, was shot dead in west Belfast last month. No one has been charged with his murder.
The IRSP has been extremely critical of the peace process which, it believes, offers working class nationalists nothing.
The government broke off contact with the party after it refused to make a submission to the Mitchell commission. The IRSP said that participation would signify its "collaboration" with the peace process.