THE naming of June 3rd by Dr Mo Mowlam of the British Labour Party for possible Sinn Fein entry to talks has given rise to renewed speculation about another IRA ceasefire. A Sinn Fein spokesman, Mr Martin McGuinness, said yesterday if "genuine and credible" negotiations were guaranteed he was convinced there could be another "cessation".
"We will do all in our power to facilitate any genuine initiative put forward by the British Labour Party, which, it seems, will form the next British government," Mr McGuinness said.
He was convinced that if Mr Tony Blair - "almost certainly the next British prime minister - showed the courage to rebuild the peace process, "then we can, all of us, working together, create a dynamic opportunity to bring to an end all the injustice and conflict".
In a speech prepared for a republican commemoration in Ardboe, Co Tyrone, he said the performance of past labour governments had been hopeless. "But we must not allow ourselves to be put off by that. John Prescott's remarks about John Major's mishandling of the peace process and Mo Mowlam's comments on Saturday are encouraging.
"I hope that this is a sign of new and progressive thinking within the British Labour Party. I think the next logical step is for the Labour Party leadership to authorise direct face to face meetings between its representatives and Sinn Fein. There are many issues to be discussed. That initiative should not wait until after the election. It should happen now."
In her weekend interview with BBC Radio Ulster Dr Mowlam said an immediate ceasefire could open the door for Sinn Fein to join the talks, which resume on June 3rd. "If they did it now - and their words and deeds were seen throughout April and May - it would be a high possibility," she said.
In a statement clarifying her position further, Labour's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary said: "Martin McGuinness must understand that there is no prospect of any discussions of any sort between Sinn Fein and a Labour government unless the IRA introduce and guarantee a permanent and meaningful ceasefire by word and deed."
Pointing to Dr Mowlam's requirement that a ceasefire be verified in word and deed, SDLP sources said there was no essential difference between her position and that of the British government and that it was wrong to read too much into an answer given to a radio interviewer's questions.
However, other observers saw the Labour spokeswoman's "courageous" comments as providing a "window of opportunity" for Sinn Fein. Earlier this month, Senator Edward Kennedy had called on the British government and the Labour leadership to guarantee Sinn Fein entry to talks if there was an immediate ceasefire, and now Dr Mowlam had described this as a "high possibility".
The question observers asked was whether the republican movement had the political sophistication and internal cohesion to grip this opportunity before it was too late and other issues claimed the attention of senior politicians in the US and Britain.
The continuing IRA campaign was said to be endangering international political support for Sinn Fein's participation in the peace process.
Meanwhile, there was an angry response ti Dr Mowlam's weekend comments from the Rev Ian Paisley. The Democratic Unionist Party leader told Radio Ulster he wanted to meet Mr Blair: "If this is the policy of an incoming government, then it's a disastrous policy."
The Ulster Unionist Party security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, said he was "worried" by Dr Mowlam's remarks. "It is not helpful at a time when the IRA has just shot a policeman, when they have planted a 900 lb bomb and we see their training facilities being uncovered just across the frontier, that the idea is put in their heads that it only requires a sort of token."
Mr David Ervine, of the Progressive Unionist Party, backed Dr Mowlam's comments, which he said were very close to the loyalist position. "It is interesting that the Secretary of State in waiting, so to speak, has gone as far as she dare." Mr Ervine said Labour had taken a "realistic view" and added: "Mo Mowlam has laid the ground if the IRA want to take it."