Sinn Fein must 'sever IRA links'

Mr Ahern said the bank raid had damaged the governments' trust

Sinn Fein has to sever its links with the IRA before they can play a full part in democratic politics, the Irish Republic's foreign minister has said.

Dermot Ahern was speaking after meeting the SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, in Londonderry on Friday.

His comments follow two IRA statements in 24 hours in which they warned of the serious state of the political process.

The group also withdrew its offer to complete the decommissioning process.

"Sinn Fein have a mandate but we have to convince Sinn Fein that the connection between them and the IRA has to finish once and for all if they want to be part of any democratic institutions north or south of the border," he said.

Martin McGuinness is to meet Mr Ahern later on Friday

"We have got the distinct and definite view of the police forces on both sides of the border that there was Provisional IRA involvement in the robbery and that has really had a huge effect on the trust and confidence of the two governments."

Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said that whoever carried out the £26.5m bank robbery "did not give a damn about the peace process".

Following a meeting with Mr Ahern in Derry, which he described as "cordial", Mr McGuinness said there was a deepening crisis within the peace process.

He admitted that Sinn Fein's relationship with the Irish government had been "badly damaged".

However, he added that he did not believe that the only problem with the political process was the IRA.

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Northern Ireland conflict

Unionist politicians described the latest IRA statement, in which the group accused both governments of making a mess of the peace process as "sinister".

Democratic Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson urged people to remain calm, but accused republicans of behaving childishly.

Ulster Unionist negotiator Sir Reg Empey said it was an attempt to bully the community.

Sinn Fein has said the statement was a statement of fact.

The IRA continues to deny claims it was behind the £26.5m Northern Bank raid in Belfast in December.

The US government described the IRA statement withdrawing its offer to decommission all its arms as unwelcome.

A spokesman for the US State Department said Washington shared the view of the British and Irish governments that the continuation of paramilitarism and associated criminality remained the central obstacle to a lasting and durable peace.

Archbishop Brady said paramilitary activity had been "too tolerated"

The Catholic Primate Archbishop, Sean Brady, said the damage to trust caused by recent events meant that clearer and more reliable commitments would be required in the future about the presence and activity of paramilitary organisations.

Speaking in County Louth on Friday, Archbishop Brady called on all those who desire peace to work together to restore confidence and trust.

He said everyone had perhaps been too tolerant of activity which was inconsistent with the vision of a just and peaceful society.

The IRA's latest statement said: "The two governments are trying to play down the importance of our statement because they are making a mess of the peace process.

"Do not underestimate the seriousness of the situation."

The Independent Monitoring Commission has presented its report on the robbery to the British and Irish governments.

The report is not expected to be published until next week.

It is thought it will concur with the police assessment that the IRA was to blame for the bank raid and to suggest sanctions against Sinn Fein.