MORE THAN 100 members of the US House of Representatives have signed a letter to the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, urging her to make peace and reconciliation "one of your highest priorities".
The election of the Labour government in Britain and the appointment of Dr Mowlam to the Northern Ireland post is seen as a fresh opportunity to bring Sinn Fein into the talks. The letter said the members were "encouraged" by her recent visit to the US.
The 105 members from Democratic and Republican parties said: "It is our belief that an historic opportunity now exists to finally reach a negotiated settlement on the future of the island of Ireland. The bitter sectarian conflict that has divided the six counties for over a quarter of a century and claimed more than 3,400 lives must come to an end."
The letter expresses the hope that "all political parties will have a place at the negotiating table".
The initiative for the letter came from Mr Richard Neal, who is one of the four Co chairmen of the AdHoc Committee on Irish Affairs in the House.
The committee has urged the British government over the past year to make more efforts to bring about an IRA ceasefire and bring Sinn Fein into multiparty talks.
"We are pleased by recent confidence building measures announced by the Prime Minister, such as the lifting of the British government's ban on official contact with Sinn Fein and the repatriation of Irish political prisoners. Your comments on the North Report and the Bloody Sunday inquiry were also very encouraging but if a just and lasting agreement is to be achieved, energy and momentum must be restored to the peace process and age old suspicions and intransigence must be put aside," the letter said.