THE Sinn Fein party chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, has said that the proposed stalks process is taking on all the dimensions of a "farce".
Speaking at a Sinn Fein organised Right to March rally in Lurgan, Co Armagh, he said the party had not been invited to the proximity talks and its exclusion was a significant signal of the British government's lack of sincerity.
A large security presence blocked off the main centre of Lurgan as unionist protesters, led by the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, counter demonstrated on one side of the town against the Sinn Fein march on the other More than 60 RUC Land Rovers, steel barricades and scores of policemen blocked both sides from meeting in what turned out to be a peaceful protest.
A local Sinn Fein councillor, Mr Brendan Curran, backed by about 200 supporters, squashed against the security barriers at Edward Street demanding the right to march through Lurgan. However, an RUC officer handed over a document outlining the conditions of the rally, which was banned from entering the town centre.
Mr McLaughlin accused the unionists of announcing a "virtual boycott" of the proximity talks and causing the British government to harden its attitude towards Sinn Fein.
Speaking about the talks, he said: "It has taken on all the dimensions of a farce, with Paisley and Trimble refusing to attend."
He said his party would be judging how best to make an impact and would make decisions on an ongoing basis. "We are expecting both governments to give an explanation of their handling of the situation to our party and we will decide in those circumstances how best we should respond.
"We have an agreement from our party executive that we should attend. That gives us the tactical freedom then to decide how we should respond as the situation develops", he said.
Asked if that meant there might be a protest at Stormont today, Mr McLaughlin repeated: "We have the tactical freedom to decide and I won't give any indications in advance how we will respond."
Should Sinn Fein be refused admission to the consultation talks, Mr McLaughlin asked: "Who will represent the republican electorate? They are trying to build peace, trying to do it through negotiations. That question has to be answered by the sponsoring governments, the Irish Government and the British government. How Sinn Fein deals with that situation is a matter for careful consideration as a party."
Mr McLaughlin said that the fact there was n ceasefire once meant it could be done again, but he added: "We cannot do it on our own.
"We need the active participation of the Irish Government, of the SDLP and Irish America, and a readiness on behalf of the British government to try to make it work." He felt there was not that "readiness" at the moment.
He said: "I recognise it will take some time to reconstruct that coalition of political forces and Sinn Fein is attempting to do that at the moment.
Mr Trimble called on the unionists on the other side of town to stage a peaceful protest.
He said there were no proximity talks but "consultation" talks, and he was not invited to any talks today. However, he had been asked to meet Sir Patrick Mayhew, but no precise date had yet been arranged.
"Both governments and the constitutional parties have made it clear there is no question of including in those consultations Sinn Fein unless there's a ceasefire", he said.