PRESSURE for a renewal of the IRA ceasefire intensified last night as the British government initiated legislation for elections in the North and published ground rules for all party negotiations.
A period of intense discussion and internal debate was signalled as the proposed structures for the next vital stage in the peace process were announced at Westminister yesterday.
Last night the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, challenged the IRA to decide whether Sinn Fein can participate in all party talks. Speaking to the annual conference of Garda superintendents, she said: "A restoration of the cessation of violence announced in August 1994 will make that possible."
Earlier the Taoiseach described the joint ground rules paper as a good basis for constructive all party negotiations in Northern Ireland. "We have established a clear separation between those negotiations and the work of the forum", Mr Bruton told the Dail on its resumption after the Easter recess.
The British government emphasised the necessity of another IRA ceasefire if Sinn Fein is to be allowed to engage in the all party talks.
There was a mixed and mainly cautious reaction from the Northern parties after the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, published the draft legislation leading to elections on May 30th and all party negotiations on June 10th.
Sir Patrick said the proposals offered a "gateway to negotiations that can lead towards a long term political settlement in Northern Ireland". He insisted that the decommissioning issue should not inevitably create a logjam when the talks begin.
Mr Michael Ancram, the North's political development minister, repeated that Sinn Fein's participation in the negotiations was dependent on the IRA restoring its ceasefire.
The British government, as expected, relaxed its original proposed restrictions on how many parties could participate in the election. The legislation allows for 22 parties and eight independents to contest the election, instead of 15 designated parties as originally proposed.
The legislation stresses that the forum will be deliberative only and have no legislative, executive or administrative functions. The negotiating structure will have pre eminence over the forum.
The main Northern Ireland parties will be tabling amendments to the proposals as the legislation is debated through Westminster. The SDLP will strive to ensure that the elections lead directly to all party talks, while the Ulster Unionist Party and the DUP will seek a greater role for the forum.
Sinn Fein repeated its demand that all party talks take place without any preconditions. The party president, Mr Gerry Adams, said Sinn Fein would carefully consider the proposals before issuing a definitive response. The senior ardcomhairle member, Mr Martin McGuinness, refused to say whether he believed the proposals would be sufficient to convince the IRA to restore its ceasefire.
Mr Seamus Mallon, the SDLP deputy leader, said that if the negotiations began in a spirit of goodwill and without preconditions then for the first time parties in Northern Ireland could start to negotiate a "real and lasting solution to our problems".
The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, said that this was "probably the last chance" for Sinn Fein to engage fully in the democratic process. Sinn Fein could not be involved in negotiations unless the IRA called a ceasefire and Sinn Fein signed up to the Mitchell report on decommissioning, he added.
He understood that the ground rules for all party negotiations remained consultative and open to amendment. There were a lot of "loose ends" in the proposed legislation, but his party would approach the proposals "constructively".
The DUB deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson said he did nob believe the issue of decommissioning was being properly addressed and he was also unhappy with the proposed remit of the forum. The DUP, however, was happy with certain elements. He believed the Bill limited the role of Dublin.
The Alliance leader, Dr John Alderdice, said the draft Bill was"messy" but that it did contain positive elements, people have a chance to vote and to tell politicians that they want peace, and that they want a positive outcome, he said.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), political wing of the INLA, is currently taking legal advice and may seek a judicial review of its exclusion from participation in the election.