WORLD : Mandela Urges British, IRA Talk

Nelson Mandela today urged Britain and the Irish Republican Army to follow the example of the African National Congress and the South African government and begin to negotiate an end to 20 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.

“People are slaughtering one another when they could sit down and address the problems in a peaceful manner,” the black leader, who is on a worldwide tour to boost his anti-apartheid campaign, told a Dublin news conference.

Almost 3,000 people have died and 30,000 have been hurt in the 20-year-old fight by IRA guerrillas to oust Britain from Northern Ireland and unite the province with the Irish Republic.

“What we would like to see is that the British government and the IRA should adopt the precise line we have taken,” Mandela said.

Mandela flew to Dublin on Sunday from an eight-city tour of the United States, where he was criticized for praising Cuban President Fidel Castro, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat.