Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams: surprise call for ceasefire

BBC Ireland Correspondent Mark Devenport breaks the news on the PM programme. Dur: 2'48"

Sinn Fein Urges New IRA Ceasefire

The call came in a joint statement from the Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, and the party's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, issued in Dublin.

There is no indication as to when the IRA will make its response public, but a new ceasefire is inevitable because to refuse the call by Sinn Fein leaders would isolate them and amount to a split among republicans.

Mr Adams said he and Mr McGuinness had provided a detailed report and assessment to the IRA and urged its leadership to "restore its cessation of August 1994."

"I have made it clear over the 18 months since the collapse of the peace process that I would only approach the IRA to restore their cessation if I was confident that their response would be positive," said Mr Adams. "The IRA leadership assured us that they would respond without delay to our request."

The two-page statement outlines the terms on which Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, believes peace can be built. Mr Adams stresses the importance of a commitment by the British and Irish governments to inclusive talks without preconditions.

The Sinn Fein President said he was confident that the mistakes that were made by the former Irish prime minister John Bruton "will not be repeated and that Sinn Fein will be accorded full equality of treatment".

Rising Hopes

February 1996: huge Docklands bomb ends last IRA ceasefire

The Sinn Fein statement follows comments by the British and Irish governments in which they said they stood firmly by their joint document on decommissioning of paramilitary weapons despite its rejection by the Ulster Unionists.

Hopes of a fresh ceasefire had been rising across the province after talks between Mr Adams and John Hume, the leader of the main nationalist party, the SDLP. Contacts between the two were crucial in arranging the last IRA ceasefire.

That began in September 1994 but the IRA resumed armed hostilities in February 1996, saying it was frustrated that Britain had refused it a political voice in talks.