As others see us

Ulster peace talks

'IF John Major were to succeed in creating a ceasefire in Ulster, then he would have achieved more than the lady before him with all her inflexibility. The quiet since the last attacks . . . may be deceptive. But it seems the IRA is ready to do a deal, as though an end to violence is at least imaginable. However . . . for the Protestants, any contact with the Provisionals is betrayal by the United Kingdom. Their terror could again set the machinery of murder in motion.'

Suddeutsche Zeitung, Munich.

'HIS (Clinton's) latest betrayal - denying (Gerry) Adams a visa (to the US) positions him as out-Britishing the British as they once were. The Government of John Major is talking to the IRA. As modest an advance towards peace in Northern Ireland as that is, it does signal an about-face from Britain's long absolute refusal to have contact with the outlawed IRA. If Britain is now facing the reality that the IRA . . . has to be included in negotiations, that ought to induce Clinton to return to his commitments of April 1992, when he found Gerry Adams fit to 'widen the political debate' . . . Ian Paisley, a spewer of religious bigotry and hate against the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, is routinely allowed into the US to rant. He should be welcomed, along with Adams, and anyone else who can get a platform.'

Colman McCarthy, columnist for the Washington Post.