A Sinn Féin Assembly member said that he does not think that the Ulster Unionists will agree to return to the North's political institutions. On the This Week programme, Alex Maskey said that Sinn Féin wanted those institutions to be reinstated next Friday. He added that total decommissioning would not be achieved by parties walking away from their responsibilities.
Earlier, David Trimble criticised both Nationalists and Republicans for their roles in the peace process. The Ulster Unionist leader claims that neither has played a proper part since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
In a BBC interview, David Trimble blamed Nationalists and Republicans for the crisis of confidence in the peace process. Mr Trimble was also asked if Unionists would accept the proposals to rescue the agreement that have been drawn up by the two governments. Mr Trimble added that the Northern rescue proposals are not acceptable to Unionists without full disarmament of parliamentary weapons.
The Ulster Unionist MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, has called for a fundamental review of the Good Friday agreement. Mr Donaldson was speaking ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the officers of the Ulster Unionist Party to consider the proposals to save the agreement that have been drawn up by the two governments.
Speaking on BBC Television this morning, Mr Donaldson said the proposals would be rejected in the absence of decommissioning. The Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, has said there is no secret deal, agreement or agenda in his dealings with the political parties in the North or the IRA to resolve the decommissioning issue.
