Major Tells IRA That Peace Initiative Is Non-Negotiable

British Prime Minister John Major, in a surprise visit to Northern Ireland, bluntly warned the Irish Republican Army on Wednesday that the framework for peace in the troubled province cannot be negotiated.

Speaking in Belfast and ringed by police, Major was responding to a demand Tuesday by Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the separatist IRA’s political arm, that his group be included in peace talks.

“There is a gauntlet down on the table. It is marked ‘peace.’ It is there for Sinn Fein to pick it up. The onus is on them,” said Major, who with Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds issued a declaration last week urging the IRA to cease its campaign of violence and, only after several months of quiet, send its representatives to the bargaining table.

“The opportunity is on the table,” Major said. “Does Mr. Adams have the will and the courage to pick it up?”

Officially, Major went to Ulster on Wednesday to open a new, $29-million headquarters for the Department of Environment.

Reynolds echoed Major’s irritation Wednesday at what both leaders apparently regard as delaying tactics by the separatists.

Reynolds told the Dublin Parliament that the British-Irish declaration “is a statement of principles and not a basis for negotiation.”

“The joint declaration, I believe, provides from everyone’s point of view a noble means of establishing the first step towards lasting peace with justice in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“The next stage of negotiation can only come after peace has first been established.”

On Tuesday, Adams made no mention of ending IRA violence in his call for “unconditional” talks with the British and Irish governments.

Major has also ruled out an amnesty for IRA prisoners as a condition of peace talks--something Adams had demanded earlier.

This stance could put Major into conflict with Reynolds, who recently suggested that such pardons might be given.

On Wednesday, Reynolds said that amnesty for IRA prisoners would “require detailed consideration and discussion, which can only take place once violence has ceased.”

The official British view is that those in jail are criminals and not political prisoners.