THE Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, has said his two-day visit to Northern Ireland was part of an attempt to bring about paramilitary arms decommissioning before the March 10th deadline for the formation of an executive.
Speaking in Omagh at the site of August's explosion which killed 29 people, Mr Andrews said: "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" and he would be trying to convince people that the date for the devolution of power set by the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, must be met.
"Of course, we look forward to decommissioning and we're going to try to bring that about. I'm part of that process over the next couple of days. I will try to convince people to ensure that the date that we want to see happen happens and to bring the whole peace process to a conclusion."
Mr Andrews is scheduled to meet Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, this morning. This is described as "a private meeting on issues concerning the Good Friday agreement". Last night he met the leader of the SDLP, Mr John Hume.
After a civic reception at council offices in Omagh yesterday, Mr Andrews travelled to Derry, where he met the governor of the Apprentice Boys, Mr Alistair Simpson, and the general secretary of the order, Mr Billy Moore. The meeting, held at the organisation's headquarters, was the first between an Irish minister and the order. "It is historic and I'm honoured to be the minister participating in that piece of history," said Mr Andrews.
He said the meeting was held to exchange views on the peace process and "the ongoing difficulties with parades". The two men were "excellent community leaders".
Mr Simpson said the event had been educational for Mr Andrews as conversation had centred on historical aspects of the organisation. "We are a historical organisation, not a political organisation."
The meeting concluded on very friendly terms, according to Mr Simpson. However, he would not confirm that it represented a thawing of relations between the Government and the Apprentice Boys. "As far as we are concerned, we are meeting people every day, at least every week anyway."
The vice-chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr Alan Rainey, also a member of the Apprentice Boys, said the meeting was very important. It would enable Mr Andrews to gauge opinion of the organisation's grassroots.
The Ulster Unionist Party councillor also said Mr Andrews's visit to Omagh had given "hope, light and encouragement" to town councillors and to those affected by last year's bombing. He gave "great inspiration" to those still mourning and those recovering from horrific injuries.
Commenting on the remarks made by Mr Andrews, the vice-president of Sinn Fein, Mr Pat Doherty, reiterated his party's stance that IRA decommissioning should not be a precondition to Sinn Fein's entry into an executive.
"We should not be listing one aspect of the agreement and putting it forward as a precondition to the implementation of the overall agreement. Let's stop bringing forward preconditions. Let's focus on what we all voted for in the referendum and implement what we agreed on."
He said decommissioning was an issue unionists had "torn themselves apart on" during the negotiations leading up to the signing of the Belfast Agreement. "We agreed a formula of words. Let's now all implement that formula of words."