The British government has the power under legislation enacting the Belfast Agreement to exclude any Executive Minister whose party has failed to co-operate fully with the decommissioning body, Mr Seamus Mallon has said.
The deputy leader of the SDLP, who no longer has the title of Deputy First Minister due to the resignation of First Minister Mr David Trimble yesterday, stressed that the onus to order any exclusion of Sinn Fein from the Executive fell to the two governments. "Have they [the governments] looked at the implications? Have they decided how we are going to proceed if the six-week period is unsuccessful?"
Mr Mallon was speaking to The Irish Times yesterday prior to the start of a round of negotiations addressing policing, demilitarisation, the stability of the political institutions and IRA weapons.
In six weeks a re-election to the posts of First and Deputy First Minister must be held or the Northern Secretary will be forced to call Assembly elections or suspend the institutions.
"It's tragic the potential of the agreement could be lost, the institutions that took 30 years to create could be lost, all at the whim of people in the republican movement going against the wishes of the people and at the whim of an Ulster Unionist Party who themselves are in breach of the agreement," said Mr Mallon.
He stressed that Section 30 (7) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 enabled the Northern Secretary to require the Assembly Speaker to move a motion to exclude a minister or party. "That could only be done with the agreement of the Irish Government and the political parties. Nobody has agreed to it because it has never been put. Why have they not chosen to use that capacity?"
Mr Mallon would not be drawn on whether the survival of the political institutions was more important than their remaining inclusive. "The Good Friday agreement stands on its merits. It's very clear what its objectives are, what its ethos is. It's also very clear what the requirements of the governments and the political parties are."
He said the responsibility on the republican movement to tackle its holding of illegal arms was "self-evident" and a "fudge" was not enough this time.
"The commitment of people to having the four issues resolved will be fully tested in the next few weeks. I hope the evasion will stop - that this issue [decommissioning] isn't an issue just for the Ulster Unionist Party, it is an issue for all the people that live on this island."
Mr Mallon said suspension of the institutions would solve nothing. "What would the object be? Provide more time to deal with exactly the same four issues?"
He said the SDLP had no aversion to the calling of fresh Assembly elections, despite the strong showing of Sinn Fein in the recent local and Westminster polls, which saw republicans capture two additional parliamentary seats.
"I would not have any fear of an election - the SDLP has not been eclipsed by Sinn Fein and they have thrown everything at the SDLP. Such an election would be fought on one issue. The issue would be the Good Friday agreement and the preservation of the institutions."
He said Mr Trimble's resignation had "very obviously" deepened the crisis against the backdrop of increasing tensions leading up to the Drumcree Orange Order march in Portadown. "Putting it mildly, it is a very difficult time to have this type of political uncertainty."
Although without the title, Mr Mallon can still jointly discharge the functions of the office of the Deputy First Minister because Mr Trimble has nominated Sir Reg Empey to exercise the functions of the First Minister's office over a six-week period.