Government 'must end NI impasse'

David Trimble and Gerry Adams: Still at loggerheads

Sinn Fein has challenged the Northern Ireland secretary to explain why he believes a political breakthrough is 'tantalisingly close'.

Speaking at a press conference in west Belfast on Monday, party president Gerry Adams said the only way for John Reid to prove this was to move on "honouring the British Government's obligations" under the Good Friday Agreement.

Sinn Fein reacted angrily to the suspension of the assembly for 24 hours at the weekend by Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid.

This was to trigger another six-week period in which the British and Irish Governments will work with the parties to try to gain a settlement.

But while he rejected that the assembly was now working fully, Mr Adams said republicans were still engaged with the process.

The British and Irish Governments have been trying to broker a resolution on the issues of decommissioning, policing, demilitarisation and concerns about the stability of the political institutions.

The proposals they presented to the pro-Agreement parties last week to try to break the impasse were not fully accepted.

	:	Fast Facts Primer
Click above to launch a primer on what the governments have proposed.

Some of the details of the plan - including the implementation plan on policing - have not yet been published.

Mr Adams called on Dr Reid to publish the plan, to move on demilitarisation and to stabilise the political institutions, partly by ensuring Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble returned as first minister.

The Ulster Unionist veto on Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brin attending North-South Ministerial Council meetings as education and health miister, must also be lifted, he said.

"At the weekend the Northern Ireland secretary said the resolution of the current problems was tantalisingly close, let him then put meat on the bones of this rhetoric," Mr Adams said.

At the weekend, Mr Adams warned of the danger that republicans would be alienated from the process by the decision to suspend the political institutions - a move asked for by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.

Asked what the IRA would do in terms of its continuing contacts with the international decommissioning commission he said: "I don't know. I'm sure that organisation will make its own decision in its own time."

'Decommissioning must start'

However, speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on Monday morning, Ulster Unionist Economy Minister Sir Reg Empey said the six-week period must be used to secure actual IRA decommissioning.

Reg Empey: "Honour your obligations"

Sir Reg said republican comments of a threat to progress in the process because of suspension, and that republicans would not move on arms on British or unionist terms was "codswallop".

He added: "We are only trying to get people to honour the commitment that they entered into and they are still using it as a bargaining chip they are still using it to keep the whole process on tenterhooks and I think it is morally repugnant."

The current crisis in the process was precipitated by the Ulster Unionist leader's resignation on 1 July because the IRA had not started to disarm.

Speculation is mounting that the IRA's proposal on how it would decommission its weapons may have been jeopardised by the suspension, and by unionist rejection of the offer.

Mark Durkan: "Policing plan must be published"

The plan - to put its weapons permanently and verifiably beyond use - had been accepted by General John de Chastelain's international decommissioning body.

Dr Reid has said he would be "deeply disappointed if the IRA walked away" from its agreement.

Meanwhile, the SDLP has called on Dr Reid to publish details of the proposed implementation plan on policing.

The party's spokesman on policing, Alex Attwood, said: "What we are saying to the British Government is, let us now create further certainty on the issue of policing.

"Publish the implementation plan on policing which outlines in detail how the 175 Patten recommendations are going to be implemented."

DUP MP Iris Robinson, meanwhile, said she believed that the British Government was planning "further concessions to republicans".

"Concessions on policing and the criminal justice review, terrorist amnesties and demilitarisation will be brought forward soon in order to entice the IRA to give a token gesture on decommissioning," she said.