It was unthinkable that political parties involved in the governance of Northern Ireland should be allowed to retain their "private armies", the Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, said at the opening of his party's campaign for a Yes vote on the Belfast Agreement.
Addressing journalists in Dublin yesterday, he warned such a situation would be a recipe for a "Lebanon-type scenario, with continuing conflict and violence a real possibility whenever a political crisis developed".
"Failure by the republican movement to honour the commitments to decommissioning contained in the agreement will only worsen the situation. The premature demand for decommissioning was allowed to become an obstacle to the opening of talks for far too long. The paramilitaries must now ensure that an equally unreasonable refusal to face up to the decommissioning issue does not obstruct implementation of the Good Friday agreement," Mr De Rossa added.
Until decommissioning happened, people would continue to believe that violence was still an option for the republican movement. Sinn Fein had to accept one could not be "half a democrat".
"Mitchel McLaughlin's refusal last week to accept the outcome of the two referenda on May 22nd as an expression of national self-determination is an example of a residual failure to accept the will of the people and conform to democratic standards," he said.
Meanwhile, there was no room for complacency. The agreement should be promoted for what it is and not for what some might like it to be. Those campaigning in its favour should promote it fair and square because "there is no need to gild the lily, whether it be Orange or Easter".
The principal contribution that people in the Republic were being asked to make was to agree to changes to Articles 2 and 3. It was "a small price for an agreement that offers so much" as the articles were the "relic of another era, reflecting the language and attitude of the 1930's", he said.
The time had come for a pandemocratic consensus, North and South, to bring the people of Ireland together in peace, democracy and partnership. However, the difficulties facing unionists in participating in an Executive with Sinn Fein should not be underestimated.
"Great courage will be needed to overcome the legacy of bitterness and suspicion created by the sectarian attacks of the IRA directed at members of the unionist community over 25 years."
The agreement also placed a number of other obligations on this State. There was a commitment to establish a Human Rights Commission; to proceed to ratify the Council of Europe framework Convention on National Minorities; to implement enhanced employment equality legislation; to introduce equal status legislation; and to continue to take further steps to demonstrate respect for the different traditions on the island of Ireland. There was also a "rather cautious commitment" to review the Offences Against the State Act.
As Democratic Left started its double campaign to promote the Belfast Agreement and the Amsterdam Treaty on May 22nd, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, introduced Fianna Fail's poster campaign in Dublin. The poster depicts the Taoiseach signing the agreement on April 10th under the slogan "Vote Yes for Peace".