WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush said Tuesday that all Northern Ireland parties must renounce violence in his first comment on not inviting Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to the White House this year.
Adams will be a noticeable absentee at the White House St Patrick's Day celebrations on Thursday while the family of a Belfast man believed to have been murdered by the IRA will be present.
Bush told a press conference that the US administration "wanted to make sure that we honored those in civil society in Ireland who are contributing positively to the peace process and that's what we'll be doing on this particular trip."
"It's very important that people understand that the parties must renounce violence," Bush added, emphasising the importance of the Good Friday agreement peace plan for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has become a hot topic for the US administration again because of the murder of Robert McCartney in a Belfast pub. The murder has been blamed on the IRA, once the armed wing of Sinn Fein.
This year will be the first since the Good Friday Agreement that Sinn Fein leader Adams, and other Northern Ireland leaders, have not been invited to the White House.
"Tomorrow's message will be, you know, we want to thank those in civil society who are working hard to achieve a peaceful resolution," said Bush.
He added that meeting the sisters and companion of McCartney was "a strong part of the statement" from the St Patrick's Day celebrations.
"I'm looking forward to meeting these very brave souls. They've committed themselves to a peaceful solution, and hopefully, their loved one will not have died in vain," he said.
03/16/2005 16:03 GMT