THE SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, with the backing of Mr Gerry Adams, will in the coming days intensify his efforts to persuade the British government of the IRA's genuine commitment to restoring its ceasefire.
The SDLP leader said he was keeping the British and Irish governments regularly informed of his contacts with the Sinn Fein president, and of their efforts to achieve an "unequivocal restoration" of the IRA ceasefire.
He made his comments shortly after Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, yesterday denied a Sunday Tribune report that the IRA has been observing an unofficial ceasefire in order to facilitate the Hume/Adams efforts to bring Sinn Fein into inclusive talks.
Unionist suspicion and opposition to a deal which would sideline the decommissioning issue is one of the main stumbling blocks to the British Prime Minister, Mr Major, providing the necessary response that could ensure a new IRA ceasefire before Christmas.
Mr Hume, it is understood in the coming days will maintain contact with Downing Street to try to persuade Mr Major that he should respond positively to recent overtures from Sinn Fein.
In particular, as Mr McGuinness repeated yesterday, Sinn Fein wants assurances that the British government would not treat any new IRA ceasefire "in the same negative way that it treated the first".
In the event of an IRA ceasefire, Sinn Fein wants speedy entry to inclusive talks, a timetable for the talks of between six to nine months - which subsequently could be extended - and confidence building measures such as the early release of republican prisoners.
"Thus far we have not had any indication from the British government that they are in any way going to be more flexible than they have been in the past," Mr McGuinness told RTE yesterday. "It is absolutely essential that the British government move as speedily as possible."
While the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, indicated on Friday that he favoured seeing all party talks involving Sinn Fein, following from an IRA ceasefire; Sinn Fein is awaiting a definitive response from Mr Major.
Sources said that that response may not be forthcoming this week. It is expected that Sir Patrick and the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, will rigorously pursue this issue during an Anglo Irish Conference meeting scheduled for Belfast on Wednesday.
While Mr McGuinness insisted that the report of an unofficial IRA ceasefire was "not accurate" nationalist sources adverted to the fact that before and after the Lisburn bombing the IRA has been operating a limited campaign, in Northern Ireland at least.
Mr Hume last night remained convinced that with the proper response from Mr Major an unequivocal" IRA ceasefire would follow.
The West Belfast SDLP MP, Dr Joe Hendron, said he believed a "ceasefire was in the air" and that a majority within the IRA and Sinn Fein wanted a resumed cessation.
Unionists - who now effectively hold the balance of power in Westminster - were, however, insistent this weekend that before Sinn Fein could enter talks there must be a credible ceasefire and, at the very least, substantial decommissioning.
Mr Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionist Party said unionists had no confidence that Sinn Fein and the IRA were genuine in their approach to the political process. Decommissioning was crucial for unionists because unionists were not prepared to sit with republicans who could exert the "blackmail" of arms.
Mr Seamus Close, deputy leader of the Alliance Party, told the BBC that politicians must not allow decommissioning to be a precondition to talks.
A Northern Ireland Office spokeswoman said the British government was unaware of any unofficial IRA ceasefire.
