Mr Gerry Adams has described as "absurd" comments made by Mr David Trimble over the weekend that the peace process would have to be "parked" if IRA weapons were not handed over. In Sligo yesterday, the Sinn Fein leader said decisions taken in the Assembly last week had cleared the way for setting up the shadow executive and North-South ministerial council. "Only Mr Trimble stands between progress and impasse. He must honour his commitments."
Mr Adams did not expect Mr Trimble to agree with him and said it was an issue on which they could "agree to disagree". If Mr Trimble were to "knee-jerk in response" to his comments, Mr Adams said that would be to miss the point.
The Sinn Fein president said that while he did not want the Ulster Unionist Party leader and First Minister to resign, the value of any political leader at this time was in his "ability and willingness to deliver on commitments that have been made".
"If Mr Trimble is refusing to deliver on those expectations or if he is about to dash the hopes of people in the referendum, then he clearly should resign." The Sinn Fein leader said the British and Irish governments had to "face up to the reality that they cannot follow the unionists' gameplan". They could not walk away from the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
"Read the agreement, it is clear. Parties with a sufficient mandate should be on the executive. That's there. The executive should have already been in shadow formation. People have been remarkably patient. This should have been put up last autumn and we are now approaching the spring without it being put in place." Mr Adams said there was "a clear majority" in the Assembly last week in favour of the report on government departments and cross-Border bodies agreed between the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP shortly before Christmas.
He said Mr Trimble had refused to recommend that report as a determination to the Assembly. "It isn't a matter of David Trimble managing his party, it's probably a matter of the party managing David Trimble.
"I think that's where we see the technical approach, which he is adopting," Mr Adams said.
On the threat from dissident republicans, Mr Adams said there would always be a danger while vacuums were allowed to be created, but added: "There is no popular support, in my opinion, at this time for any of those small groups - none whatsoever."
Mr Adams made the comments after giving a republican lecture in honour of IRA members Joe McManus and Kevin Coen, who were both killed while involved in IRA attacks in Co Fermanagh.
Kevin Coen was killed in 1975 and Joe McManus, the son of Sligo Corporation councillor, Mr Sean McManus, was shot dead in an attack on a UDR man in 1992.
Mr Adams condemned attempts to "criminalise" IRA members killed in the Troubles, saying they were "decent, selfless, honourable people" and that what they sought to achieve for the people of Ireland was "decent, noble and just".
If there were to be a real healing process, it would have to be accepted by everybody that the families of IRA members suffered the same pain and grief as everybody else, he said.
On the controversy over a meeting due to take place today between Northern Minister Mr Adam Ingram and the families of IRA men killed in Loughgall, Mr Adams said he believed the families had shown "a remarkable generosity of spirit" in agreeing to the meeting.