THE British and Irish governments must take a leadership role and make the peace process inclusive, the Sinn Fein chairman has said. Good faith, imagination, generosity and a willingness to take risks was required, he added.
Mr Mitchel McLaughlin expressed disappointment that Sinn Fein had not been invited to attend the consultative process.
Should republicans and nationalists feel reassured by the exclusion of Sinn Fein from the consultative process or the imposition of an elective process which we do not want?" he said.
The Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, had met the Alliance Party and other parties which had smaller electoral mandates than Sinn Fein, Mr McLaughlin said. "A peace process if it is to be successful must be built on inclusion. The old agenda of barring sections of our people from the political process is a recipe for disaster."