SINN Fein president Mr Gerry Adams has made a direct appeal to unionists to accept that republicans genuinely want to reach an equitable accommodation with them.
In the unionist supporting News Letter newspaper yesterday, Mr Adams asked unionists to accept that republicans want to find an agreement "between the people of this island which will satisfy all of our various positions".
"I accept that many unionists believe that we do not comprehend or appreciate the effects of the last 25 years on them. We do. Or at least some of us do. Or we are trying to and we are trying to reach out because we who have suffered do understand your sense of hurt," he wrote.
"When Irish republicans talk about British interference and the British presence we do not mean the unionist section of our people. We want to make peace with unionists, to work with unionists so that when we collectively reach the end of our journey we will be able to accommodate and celebrate our diversity as equals," Mr Adams added.
He said republicans were trying to develop a better understanding of unionism through continuing dialogue with members of the Northern Protestant and unionist community. The unionist leaderships realised that talks with Sinn Fein were inevitable and they should not block progress to that end.
"Republicans must make every effort to ensure that the Northern Protestant and unionist section of our people are not forced to occupy that political space we wish to escape from. If being marginalised, abandoned and disempowered was bad for us, then it is bad for unionists.
"Giving up on dialogue with unionism is not an option for Sinn Fein. Bypassing the unionists is not an option for us. Our option is for dialogue and engagement," Mr Adams wrote.
Meanwhile, SDLP leader Mr John Hum&is confident that the party candidate, Mr Joe Byrne, will take the seat in West Tyrone. He dismissed as invalid Sinn Fein polls in local West Tyrone papers which said its candidate, Mr Pat Doherty, was the leading nationalist candidate.
"Sinn Fein seems to be desperate to try and hide their flagging campaign in West Tyrone. Women voters in particular are telling our campaign team that they are backing the SDLP and Joe Byrne because they feel that Sinn Fein have let them down in recent years," said Mr Hume.
He repeated that a vote for Sinn Fein was a vote for violence and said Sinn Fein's abstentionist policy would not serve the electorate because laws were made in the House of Commons, "not in television studios or on the pages of newspapers".
Mr Ken Maginnis, the Ulster Unionist Party candidate in Fermanagh South Tyrone, said it was essential that unionists won more seats in this election. "Every vote will count if the Sinn Fein/IRA propaganda machine is to be spiked. What happens at this election will dictate government attitudes for the next five years, at least," he added.
