Alliance Leader New Year's message

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 30th Dec 2002

Alliance Leader David Ford has said that political opportunities must not be squandered in 2003, as they had been over the past 12 months.

Mr Ford said: "The last year has been one of disappointment. It was supposed to herald a new era of stability, but instead the public got one crisis after another as politicians and paramilitaries failed to take the opportunities they had been given.

"Alliance has done more than its fair share to keep the train on the tracks, but unless there is a collective effort to build on the Agreement and move towards a non-sectarian society together, progress could be derailed.

"If 2003 is to be a truly peaceful year, it must be one in which trust and confidence are restored to politics, and tribal divisions are set aside for the good of the whole community."