Major Warns IRA Against More Violence

British Prime Minister John Major warned the Irish Republican Army and its political wing, Sinn Fein, on Monday that they can expect “no sympathy and no quarter” if they choose the bomb over the ballot box in Northern Ireland.

In a rare televised address to the nation, Major vowed to hunt down those responsible for Friday’s fatal IRA car bombing in London that marked the end of the outlawed group’s 17-month-old cease-fire.

“The IRA will never bomb their way to the negotiating table,” he promised.

“Sinn Fein and the IRA have a choice. Only when they commit themselves unequivocally to peace, and reinstate the cease-fire, can they have a voice and stake in Northern Ireland’s future,” Major said.

“But if they reject democratic principles and use violence, they can expect no sympathy and no quarter.”

Major outlined Britain’s plan for an elected forum as a steppingstone to all-party talks and said his government will intensify its work with the democratic parties and the Irish government to preserve the new “spirit for peace” in Northern Ireland.

“Peace does not have to be a dream,” he said. “The people of Northern Ireland--the people I have come to know over the past five years--want peace. It is to their voice, above all, that I shall listen. My goal is a lasting peace. I shall go on working until we have achieved it.”

Earlier Monday, Major warned that more IRA violence is possible if the guerrilla group does not renew the cease-fire.

In an emergency statement to Parliament, Major said he still believes that Britain’s controversial proposal for elections in Northern Ireland is the most promising way to achieve full peace talks over the future of the British-ruled province.

“This may not be the last atrocity. More may follow, both here in the mainland and in Northern Ireland, if the IRA cease-fire is not renewed,” Major told a tense House of Commons.

Major said he was not slamming the door in the face of the IRA and Sinn Fein, but he stressed that they cannot be included in negotiations unless there is an unequivocal return to the cease-fire.

Major portrayed elections as a door to the negotiations, despite Irish Prime Minister John Bruton’s warning Sunday that they would “pour petrol on the flames” threatening the peace process.