Trimble risks letting republicans off the hook, again - Neeson

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 24th Sep 2001

Alliance Party Leader, Sean Neeson, has stated that the exclusion motion from the David Trimble and the Ulster Unionists and associated threat to withdraw Ministers from the Executive risks letting the Republicans off the hook again on decommissioning.

Sean Neeson said:

"The future of peace process are being called into jeopardy by the refusal of Republicans to give sufficient confidence in the durability of their cease-fires by starting a process of decommissioning."

"Republicans missed an opportunity in not moving sufficiently in the summer. With the revelations over links to FARC in Colombia, and the changing attitudes to terrorists and former terrorists in the wake of the Attacks upon America, the potential was there for the British, Irish Governments, the US Administration as well as the local parties to bring considerable collective pressure to bear on Republicans."

"Through his unilateral actions, David Trimble has once again put the short-term unity of the Ulster Unionist Party ahead of the future of the Agreement. The lessons from the past few years are clear: Republicans have not moved in the face of such unilateral ultimatums."

"It would have been so much better to use the six weeks for one final effort to achieve decommissioning. At the end of that period, it would be up to the Governments as the guardians of the process to consider a full suspension accompanied by a Review, or for the British Government or other the pro-Agreement parties to table such a motion collectively".

ENDS.