Deadlock In North

Sir, - It is a pity that Mr Gerry Adams seems to believe that a UUP objective of keeping Sinn Fein out of the executive, rather…

Sir, - It is a pity that Mr Gerry Adams seems to believe that a UUP objective of keeping Sinn Fein out of the executive, rather than the absence of trust which fuels the "no guns, no government" stance, is the prime stumbling block to the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement (Opinion, October 4th).

No matter how many checks and balances and safeguards were written into the agreement, the fact remains that one big question continues to nag at us: with dissident Republicans ideologically opposed to it, in what way must the agreement be made to work so as to make "conflict in this country a thing of the past" in or about May 2000?

It seems to me that the only answer is to be found in the symbolism of the Irish tricolour, and the related "cherishing all the children of the nation" section of the 1916 Proclamation. - Yours, etc.,

James McGeever, Dublin Road, Kingscourt, Co Cavan.