U.S. Lesson for Sinn Fein Leader : Adams must press hawks to restore the cease-fire in Ireland

The only way to keep the United States an interested and active party in the Northern Ireland question is restoration of the cease- fire. That is the message Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, should convey to the hawks within the organization.

Bombs, as Adams has learned in his current trip to America, do not open political doors. Lst year, President and Mrs. Clinton invited Adams to a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House. This year, the holiday guest will be David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and a vehement oppoonent of Sinn Fein. What a difference made by a single bomb- the London Docklands blast that ended the IRA’s declared cease- fire.

The White House is convinced that people in Belfast, London, Dublin and across the United States want peace in Northern Ireland. It would be in Adam’s benefit to understand this show leadership now and redirect a peace process that should have not gone astray.

In fairness it must be said that the burden of the last derailment does not rest solely with Sinn Fein and the IRA. There is plently of blame to share among the leaders involved in the process who have refused to hear the call of the people for a negotiated peace.

The process remains alive, and the adversaries have met with both the British and the Irish governments. The next phase will determine an election process, and then comes the June 10 target date for all- party talks. But Sinn Fein will be excluded unless the IRA agrees to restore the cease- fire.

That is why it is imperative that Adams convince the underground IRA that its boastful threat to bomb Britain for the next 25 years, as Adams reportedly was told by an IRA operative, cannot lead to a solution.

Negotiations and consensus are needed, for they alone, not bombs, can breed trust. Adams should push the IRA hawks to see this reality.