The Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, yesterday warned paramilitaries not to stall on the issue of the decommissioning of terrorist weapons. Speaking in Derry, he said he hoped no one was "toying with the idea of trying to pursue a party political or sectional interest". Mr Mallon said decommissioning was a requirement of the Belfast Agreement and no one should attempt to hold the people of Northern Ireland to ransom over the issue.
"The Irish and British governments have made it clear in both Dail Eireann and in Westminster that in certain circumstances the whole political process would be suspended. That would include the Executive. Now, would any party or any group or any sector want to hold the people of the North of Ireland to ransom in a way which actually would lose the new dispensation that we have?
"I would suggest that nobody would want to do that. I would also suggest nobody should even think about trying to do that."
As a result of understandings reached by the review, he said, the parties had been able to proceed to the setting up of the political arrangements. "Now let's proceed with those political arrangements in a way that benefits everyone and let's not have any stalling mechanisms of any kind at this stage."
The Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, said he had no doubt the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the three UUP departmental ministers would resign from the Executive if IRA decommissioning had not been delivered before the next Ulster Unionist Council meeting.
At a meeting of his constituency association in Dunmurry, Co Antrim, last night, Mr Donaldson, who is opposed to the Belfast Agreement, claimed the decommissioning process must involve the destruction of weaponry with proper verification by Gen de Chastelain's independent commission.
"The idea that sealed bunkers will be sufficient for decommissioning is unacceptable," he said.