THE chairwoman of the Dublin Forum for Peace and Reconciliation has warned that the Northern multi-party talks must not become bogged down over wrangling and side issues.
Judge Catherine McGuinness, addressing the Columbanus Community of Reconciliation in north Belfast last night, said if negotiations are to be accepted as the peaceful and democratic way to a settlement, they must be seen to be making real progress.
If they became stalled over minor issues, then "there is a real danger that ordinary people will lose all faith in the democratic process as a whole.
"If, on the other hand, the talks are seen to be reaching out towards reconciliation rather than indulging in arid point scoring, there will be a much greater incentive for those who are now outside the process to take the steps necessary to become part of the negotiations," Judge McGuinness added.
Her experience of chairing the Dublin Forum gave her hope. "As chairperson I have watched uneasy relationships develop remarkably well: people do have the ability to sit down together, to compromise and to establish confidence in each other," she said.
What was chiefly required for confidence building was a renewed IRA ceasefire.
This was strongly desired by the vast majority of people on the island. Having tasted the liberation of peace for 17 months, they did not want to return to the dark days of violence, but rather to reach out for a better future for themselves and their children, she added.