Unionists have criticised an appeal for the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, to make a leap of faith and enter into a power-sharing executive with Sinn Fein before a start to IRA decommissioning.
The News Letter yesterday urged the Ulster Unionist Party to give its backing to the party leader to do what he has said so far he will not countenance, "provided he can broker a deal guaranteeing a start to decommissioning early in the executive's life".
The editorial follows the announcement that the parties had been given an "absolute" deadline of June 30th for the formation of an executive. It was clearly intended to give Mr Trimble support in any internal fight with hardliners in his party.
Mr Trimble must either accept the new initiative, running the risk of splitting his party, or reject it, spelling the end of the Belfast Agreement, the editorial said. It urged him to show courage and tenacity, pointing out that he would have to decide over the next month whether to "apply the handbrake to the political process or place his foot on the accelerator".
The editorial said there were good reasons for moving forward, "unpopular though it would be in some quarters".
The News Letter added: "Sinn Fein, even without an executive role, is in the inside track of the peace process. The First Minister would be right to keep them there, provided he can broker a deal guaranteeing a start to decommissioning early in the executive's lifetime."
If the First Minister responded by "blocking the formation of a four-party executive" he could stall the whole process and force everyone back to the drawing board. That would be a "kick in the teeth" for the 71 per cent who had voted for the agreement.
However, Mr Jeffrey Donald son, the UUP MP for Lagan Valley, who is a resolute opponent of the agreement, said that it would be a "kick in the teeth" for the 71 per cent if Mr Martin McGuinness got into office while the IRA remained fully armed.
Mr Donaldson accused the newspaper of undermining the UUP leader's position, saying that he was not aware of any change in the party's stated policy that IRA decommissioning must precede the formation of an executive. He expressed disappointment that it should advocate otherwise. He accused the newspaper of having "lost touch with the reality and thinking amongst the unionist electorate".
"The News Letter has editorialised for weeks supporting the unionists' position on decommissioning. Why have they changed now? Why have they done a U-turn?" he asked.
Sinn Fein refused to comment on the editorial or on the proposals put forward in London. The party's national chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, speaking at the start of his party's European election campaign, said: "You can appreciate that these are quite sensitive times and we would prefer not to comment."
However, while being sensitive to the problems facing Mr Trimble and his party colleagues, the Assembly member for Foyle said that he hoped the UUP leadership would respond to the demands of the "majority of unionists" who had supported the agreement in last year's referendum.
Mr Peter Weir, a rebel UUP Assembly member, said that forming an executive without decommissioning would cause "widespread opposition and concern" and "could lead to a potential party split". The North Down Assembly member, who lost the party whip after voting against his leader in a debate on new government structures last February, said that a solution which did not have the support of the majority of unionists would not work.