Britain, Ireland Not Dissuaded on Ulster

The British and Irish governments agreed Saturday that Sinn Fein’s failure to accept their offer of negotiations will not stop the search for compromise in Northern Ireland.

British Prime Minister John Major and his Irish counterpart, Albert Reynolds, told reporters outside Major’s 10 Downing St. residence that their priority now is to start fresh talks with moderate parties in the British province.

The two leaders continue to fan hopes of attaining the big goal: a permanent Irish Republican Army cease-fire to pave the way for Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political wing, to join peace talks.

Major, Reynolds and key aides discussed their Northern Ireland initiative for 75 minutes before going together to an Ireland-England rugby match.

The meeting underscored their determination to speak with one voice on Northern Ireland and to maintain pressure on Sinn Fein, which will hold its annual conference next weekend in Dublin, to reject IRA violence.

Reynolds and Major on Dec. 15 announced that renouncing violence was necessary for Sinn Fein to be included in negotiations.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Reynolds said he thinks that the Sinn Fein-IRA leadership cannot agree on what to do.

“For them to come to a decision of historic proportions will inevitably take time,” he said.

The IRA so far has signaled no change. Hours before Major and Reynolds met, a firebomb destroyed a newspaper vendor’s shop and damaged six other stores in central London.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but police suspected the IRA.

Violence in Northern Ireland has continued at a relatively low but lethal clip. Last week, the IRA attacked several army and police patrols, killing one policeman Thursday in a rocket attack.

Protestant gunmen determined to preserve British rule wounded a 52-year-old Roman Catholic man and twice struck Sinn Fein’s west Belfast headquarters--first with a rocket, then with gunfire that injured three workers.

Major and Reynolds believe British-Irish solidarity will gradually undermine the IRA justification for violence--that Britain holds Northern Ireland against the will of most Irish people.

Their Dec. 15 “framework for peace” committed both governments to support any compromise formula that most Northern Ireland citizens would accept, ranging from continued British rule to union with the Irish republic.