Northern Ireland Assembly elections in must not be postponed because of republican or unionist intransigence, the SDLP insisted today.
As speculation mounted that Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy could again postpone Assembly elections planned for May 29th, the SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan accused the IRA Army Council of standing "between the people of Ireland and the (Belfast) Agreement they mandated us all to implement".
Speaking at a conference on nationalism organised by the Irish Association in Belfast, he insisted the democratic process must be allowed to function even if there was a lack of progress in the peace process.
"Everywhere I go across the north (of Ireland), people are telling me how frustrated they are," he said. "People only see their politicians crying out at each other. It is little wonder that people on the ground feel so fed up and let down.
"Between them the recalcitrant or self-indulgent elements of republicanism and unionism may be able to hold up the political process. But they must not be allowed to stand in the way of the democratic process."
He called on the British and Irish governments to ensure the Assembly Elections go ahead as planned.
"If the political parties cannot provide the clarity and certainty needed to make the Agreement work then the people must be given the opportunity to provide it for them by giving a new mandate for the Agreement to those who are most committed it."
Last month, Mr Murphy postponed the elections from May 1st to May 29th to buy more time for a groundbreaking move from the IRA on its future and for the release of the British and Irish governments' blueprint for the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
However concerns that the IRA is reluctant to abandon paramilitarism have delayed the release of the document and created fears that the May 29 election could take place without a return to devolution.
He criticised Sinn Féin for "lecturing unionists about their need to prepare for reunification", insisting republicans would "have to accept that it is not just through words but actions as well that unity will be achieved."
The Sinn Féin chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin this afternoon hit back at Mr Durkan, accusing him of "donning David Trimble's clothes".
He said: "While Mark Durkan is clear and unambiguous in endorsing David Trimble's call for an IRA statement dictated by the Ulster Unionist Council he is ominously silent in demanding certainty and clarity from the British Government on its responsibilities.
"He has made no demands of David Trimble on commitments on stability of the institutions, all-Ireland Inter-Parliamentary Forum or any of the other areas in which he has been in default of the Agreement.
"Mark Durkan in his recent outbursts is sounding more like a proxy for the Ulster Unionist Council than the leader of a supposedly nationalist party."
PA