Door open on SF talks as Ahern stands firm

THE Government is still leaving the door open for new talks with Sinn Féin, yet Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appeared to adopt a harder line than British Prime Minister Tony Blair on dealing with IRA criminality yesterday.

Mt Ahern said he is prepared to meet the Sinn Féin leadership but he was still “not an inch” wiser about its attitude to criminality, paramilitarism and decommissioning after the party’s Árd Fheis.

Nonetheless there were signals the Government is still willing to reopen negotiations with Sinn Féin, even if the Republican movement does not yet have definite proposals on dealing with these three key points.

Following the last meeting with the Sinn Féin leadership, the Government indicated it was not prepared to re-enter negotiations with the party until it came back with clear answers to questions on these issues.

Since those talks, where the Taoiseach, Justice Minister Michael McDowell and Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern met with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, the Government has cut off all contact with Sinn Féin, even by officials within the Taoiseach’s office and Department of Foreign Affairs.

Yesterday Mr Ahern reiterated the Árd Fheis, including Mr Adams speech, didn’t afford him an insight on the direction the Republican movement was proposing to take. Yet Mr Blair’s spokesman said the Ard Fheis indicated the party is starting to deal with the issue of criminality within the Republican movement.

A spokesman for the British Prime Minister said yesterday that Sinn Féin’s conference showed it was beginning to address issues of concern to both governments.

Also yesterday, the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body unanimously passed a motion condemning the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney and reaffirming its support for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

The group, representing TDs, Senators, MPs and members of the British House of Lords expressed disappointment at the damage to the peace process caused by recent attacks and ongoing criminality.

Today Mr McCartney’s sisters will keep the pressure on his murderers by meeting female TDs and Senators at Leinster House.

The five sisters will travel to Dublin for the meeting with women Oireachtas members to mark International Women’s Day 2005.