Political institutions in the North are going to collapse in a very short time, Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams said today.
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Mr Gerry Adams
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With prospects for saving the Belfast Agreement fading fast, Mr Adams issued the warning amid fears the British government would suspend the Stormont Assembly.
He was speaking at a press conference unveiling Sinn Féin's response to the two governments' plan to save the Belfast Agreement.
He said the issues of policing, arms, demilitarisation and other concerns could be resolved but also added: "I don't think any of us should underestimate the intensity of the crisis which is opening up.
"The reality is that the institutions are going to collapse in a very short time, given the management of the process at this point."
Sinn Féin said the Irish and British governments' proposals provided basis for further progress.
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In a detailed response to the document, the party said that in the short term it could not nominate representatives to sit on the new policing board or call upon people to join the new service.
It also called on the British government to publish its revised implementation plan which set out how the new policing arrangements would be put in place.
On the issue of demilitarisation, it added that military installations in south Armagh should be closed.
Sinn Féin also urged the Ulster Unionist Party to fill the position of First Minister and to "end their unlawful veto" on the north-south institutions.
"We call upon the pro-Agreement parties to work together to resolve these current difficulties. In particular we call up on both governments to defend and implement the Good Friday Agreement."
But Mr Jeffrey Donaldson of the Ulster Unionist Party hit back at Mr Adams, claiming he had the power to deliver IRA disarmament.
Accusing him of putting the institutions at risk by stalling on the decommissioning issue, he said: "If Gerry Adams is looking for someone to blame for collapse then he need look no further than the nearest mirror.
"Let him be in no doubt that the full responsibility lies with the republican movement's intransigence and their insatiable demands for more."
Yesterday the Ulster Unionist Party said it could not support the governments' plan or the IRA's latest move on decommissioning.
The party's leader Mr David Trimble said he would have to see more movement on IRA arms by lunchtime tomorrow if the Agreement was to be saved.
The SDLP fully supported the plan but said it had remaining problems with policing.
An SDLP delegation is scheduled to meet General de Chastelain this afternoon to discuss his recent report on IRA arms decommissioning.
Yesterday Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness described the Ulster Unionist reaction to the document as party leader Mr David Trimble's "biggest blunder".
Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid will be faced with the decision tomorrow on whether to suspend the institutions or call fresh elections.
Dr Reid and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Brian Cowen are expected to meet later this week to assess the responses from the parties.
additional reporting PA
