The Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr Alex Maskey, laid a wreath at the Cenotaph at City Hall yesterday to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. His gesture was welcomed by the British government.
It is understood to be the first time a Sinn Féin representative in the North has laid a wreath in memory of those killed in the first World War.
The move has led to some internal dissension among Sinn Féin grassroots and has been condemned by Republican Sinn Féin and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. It was welcomed by Ulster Unionist and Alliance councillors. Mr Maskey did not attend the main ceremony two hours later when around 200 people commemorated the 86th anniversary of the Somme at Belfast City Hall. Unionist, SDLP, and Alliance councillors were present.
The British government, members of the British armed forces and all the main churches were also represented. Poppy wreaths were placed at the Cenotaph beside Sinn Féin's laurel wreath.
Mr Maskey was accompanied by several party colleagues as he laid the wreath. A small number of bystanders also watched. Upon reaching the cenotaph, he stepped forward alone and laid a laurel wreath. He then retreated a few steps and stood for a minute's silence before departing.
He said he was laying the wreath in memory of, and in tribute to, all who died at the Somme and during the first World War.
"My initiative is equally in recognition of the sorrow, hurt and suffering left behind for their relatives, friends and comrades," he said.
"My objective beyond this is to seek to identify common ground for all of us in this generation. This is a major step for republicans and nationalists on this island. I hope this initiative will be seen at face value and as a positive gesture".
He said he would be asking the council to consider a new form of civic commemoration for all those who died.
Republicans have traditionally refused to attend wreath-laying ceremonies, saying they are closely associated with the British military establishment.
Mr Maskey said his actions had received support from both within and outside his own party. As he spoke from the steps of Belfast City Hall, British soldiers with sniffer dogs patrolled the grounds in case a bomb had been planted by the "Real" or Continuity IRA.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Reid, described Sinn Féin's gesture as "a sign of encouragement and hope for the future".
He welcomed "changing nationalist attitudes" to honouring the dead of the first World War.
DUP councillor Mr Sammy Wilson accused Sinn Féin of insulting the memory of those killed at the Somme. "Alex Maskey made it into a political football for his own ends. He refused to step back from the cul-de-sac which republicans have backed themselves into."
Two Catholic priests from Clonard Monastery in west Belfast, Father Gerry Reynolds and Father Patsie Cunning, watched Mr Maskey lay the wreath. They said they were delighted with Sinn Féin's decision. "This gesture comes from the republican movement which has been involved in a violent struggle," Father Reynolds said. "I hope this means they want to move away from the violent past and into a peaceful future."