The Democratic Unionist Party leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has described the decommissioning body's statement as a "last-ditch attempt" which was shrouded in a "veil of secrecy".
After leading a party delegation to meet Gen John de Chastelain yesterday, Dr Paisley said they had learnt nothing new. The general had refused to divulge any information about the how, where and when of decommissioning, he added.
"It was an amazing meeting because the general said: `All we have is just an agreement about a method.' When we asked what the method is, he said: `That will remain secret.' When we asked him when the decommissioning will be carried out, he said: `That will remain secret.'
"When we asked if there is going to be an inventory of arms decommissioned, he said: `That will remain secret.'
"When we asked the all-important question of `when?' he said: `We have no answer to that whatsoever.' So how it's going to take place you will never know," Dr Paisley said.
"All this will be done secretly. There's going to be no public announcement that so many arms have been destroyed, the numbers and the weapons and the amount of Semtex, that will all be secret. In fact this whole thing may not be announced as it's going on, he [Gen de Chastelain] said it may be announced at the end of the programme."
The only news his party had learnt was that the general had discussed the deal with the IRA representative only on Sunday.
Dr Paisley criticised the commission for not recommending to the British government a lifting of the secrecy which surrounded most of the issues. He said the situation was more evidence of the British government "not being open" and "not being honest", adding that it could "simply not be trusted".
"So this document is the last-ditch attempt by a discredited government who has entered into partnership with the people who have brought mayhem, murder and genocide to our province. To have something done behind the backs of the people of Northern Ireland and then told to the people of Northern Ireland was the greatest possible victory," he said.
Dr Paisley dismissed comments by many of the North's politicians as well as the two governments welcoming the document. "Nothing has been brought about." The deputy leader of the anti-agreement Northern Ireland Unionist Party, Mr Patrick Roche, criticised the commission's statement as "insubstantial".
"There are no details of how decommissioning will take place or when it will occur. Therefore, the decommissioning body's claim that this proposal `initiates a process that will put IRA arms completely and verifiably beyond use' is an absolute nonsense," he said.
Mr Roche called for the commission to be stood down immediately, claiming it had absorbed "huge amounts of financial resources" since its establishment in 1998. The latest statement had completely under mined its political credibility, he added.
"The attempt by the IICD to give credibility to the IRA at this time and therefore to put pressure on unionists to accept the `implementation package' should be absolutely rejected."