In an impassioned speech last night at the Institute of Politics, Gerry Adams--the president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA)--called for immediate negotiations to unite the two halves of Ireland as an independent nation.

Adams, whose appearance was marked by tight security measures and a limited audience, also criticized the British for not moving to begin talks during t government to guarantee Irish independence.

"London and Ireland need to join in an adventure, in a project, to move the situation now," he said. "The project must be very difficult, it will certainly be challenging, but there is no excuse for not talking now.

"It has worked in the Middle East, and it has worked in South Africa," Adams said.

"As we approach a new century, we should not just step on the threshold for a new era, but really create a new era."

Adams said he has no other goals beyond negotiating for an independent Irish government.

"There should be no predetermined outcome. I believe the people of Ireland have the intelligence to govern ourselves," he said.

"We need to engage, we need to get an agreement, and we need to get rid of the British jurisdiction to replace it with some sort of Irish jurisdiction."

The British government claims negotiations are blocked because of the ambiguity surrounding the "permanence" of the cease-fire.

But Adams said London is stioll resorting to tactical maneuvers to avoid negotiating with the IRA in peacetime.

"The British government has reduced it to a game of semantics. It isn't a game of Scrabble," he said. "If I said, 'Yes, the cease-fire is permanent,' London would have asked, 'Yes, but is it complete?'"

There have been a few terrorist attacks since the cease-fire, attacks for which the IRA claims no responsibility.

The IRA has completely ceased any military operations in the last month, Adams said.

The British government still has more than 30,000 troops on active service and is blocking 250 border crossings between northern and southern Ireland, according to Adams.

In the last month, both Sinn Fein's offices and press center have been bombed, and the home of one of its counselors has also been under attack.