Sinn Féin has responded cautiously to an offer from a Belfast umbrella group representing Orangemen, loyalist paramilitaries and unionist politicians to engage in talks with nationalists aimed at avoiding a re-run of last Monday's night's violence in Ardoyne.
The North and West Belfast Parades Forum said yesterday it had agreed through the Parades Commission to talk to nationalists about how disputes over contentious parades could be resolved.
These talks are likely to begin in September when the marching season ends, said Ulster Unionist Assembly member for North Belfast and forum member Mr Fred Cobain.
While the Orange Order as a body has rejected appeals to deal directly with nationalists, the order is represented on the Belfast Parades Forum by its Belfast county grand master Mr Dawson Baillie.
Mr John MacVicar, chairman of the forum, said it would be "ludicrous" to wait until shortly before the Twelfth of July next year before initiating efforts to avoid a repeat of the trouble earlier this week.
"What we have done is made a commitment through the Parades Commission and that commitment is we will engage, at least around the beginning of September - we will agree a series of dates through the Parades Commission and we will meet with nationalist residents," he said.
Sinn Féin councillor for North Belfast Mr Eoin Ó Broin said nationalists must adopt a "wait-and-see approach" to the forum's talks commitment.
He added negotiations were required ahead of September because up until the end of August there are still a number of parades that could trigger further trouble.
"This forum, which includes unionist politicians and paramilitaries, needs to acknowledge that a process of dialogue can have no predetermined outcome and that it is legitimate to expect that in a small number of cases a resolution to the issue will involve no parade," he said.
"The actions of the PSNI over the past week in Ardoyne and Lurgan also leave many within the nationalist community without the confidence that, even if a resolution between communities was reached, that the PSNI on the ground will respect that resolution and stick by it", added Mr Ó Broin.
