Sinn Féin has accused British government of failing to address the ‘sustained and orchestrated’ loyalist campaign directed against the Catholic community.
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Mr Adams' voice was one of many reacting to statements from British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid on the state of paramilitary ceasefires in the Commons today.
Sinn Féin President Mr Gerry Adams said: "The British Government today also failed to assert the primary responsibility of the First Minister to give leadership at this difficult time against the loyalist death squads."
Outlining a more "rigorous" British government approach to breaches of republican and loyalist ceasefires, Dr Reid said he would not hesitate to act against paramilitaries if there was evidence of continued illegal paramilitary activity.
Mr Adams welcomed the British government’s adoption of a proposal suggested by Sinn Féin at Hillsborough to develop continuous links between communities in the interface areas of Belfast.
But the West Belfast MP said: "What the vast majority of people who support the Good Friday Agreement wanted and needed to hear this afternoon was the assertion by the British Government of the primacy of politics, the protection and promotion of the Good Friday Agreement and forthright opposition to sectarianism. We did not hear that today."
Mr David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionists, said any judgment about breaches of the ceasefire that came from a Secretary of State would have "no credibility" - especially within the unionist community.
He said another mechanism was required to provide for an "objective element" to conduct regular audits of paramilitary activity.
He urged Dr Reid to reiterate his promise to require the Northern Assembly to consider a motion to exclude Sinn Féin if the IRA breached the ceasefire.
Mr Trimble wanted a "clear, unequivocal" undertaking that Dr Reid would act in the case of substantiated information of paramilitaries training, targeting or acquiring weapons.
The leader of the SDLP, Mr Mark Durkan, said if the measures outlined by Dr Reid led to greater protection for vulnerable communities then they would be welcomed.
"If measures bring effective protection then they are welcome but if it's a matter of security just being seen to be done but not offering effective protection then people will make their own judgment."
Mr Durkan said the majority of people under attack were not concerned about the status of the IRA ceasefire.
"The reality is that there are people being hurt and killed by organisations that are not even on ceasefire . . . That is something that needs to be fully registered by the Secretary of State."
He warned against creating a crisis in the peace process by introducing moves against Sinn Féin.
Lord Maginnis, the Ulster Unionist Party's former security spokesman, said he was cynical about any government promises to take tough action against paramilitaries, insisting he had heard it all before.
He said: "I am totally cynical. I have seen it written on walls, I've heard it spoken, I've heard it in broadcasts, I've heard it in the House of Commons again and again and again and at the end of the day, we constrain ourselves to, for example, ceasefires instead of asking whether the democratic process is being allowed to develop during this period of transition.
The DUP’s Mr Ian Paisley Jr said Mr Blair had "once again been found wanting in the face of threats from the men of violence because he is frightened of bombs going off on the mainland. His statement will be of no use whatsoever to the security services in their battle against terrorism."
The DUP's Mr Nigel Dodds (North Belfast) criticised the statement, saying "and they [people] will look today at this statement and hear these words and there will be great disappointment and despair even, throughout Northern Ireland, at the lack of any effective action to deal with the corruption of government in Northern Ireland, whereby we have a signal being sent that it's alright to be democrats by day but to murder and to be on the streets causing disturbance by night."
He called for the removal of the "incongruous" Sinn Féin from government of the province when the party "refuses to support the police".
Monica McWilliams, Women's Coalition Stormont Assembly member, said politicians now needed to play their part in making political progress work. "We cannot lose sight that there have been breaches on both sides or lose sight of our responsibilities in working together to achieve a peaceful and stable situation," she said.
Sinn Fein national chairperson Mr Mitchel McLaughlin said the Government had missed an opportunity to highlight the real crisis in the peace process, which he said was the loyalist campaign against the Catholic community.
"We also feel that more emphasis should have been put on leadership, particularly of the First Minister and the two governments in respect of the primacy of politics."
Mr McLaughlin said there was no grounds to introduce an exclusion motion against his party. "Sinn Fein is absolutely confident that we can demonstrate the contribution we have made to developing politics," he said.
PA