Northern Ireland's politicians can offer hope to the rest of the world after the US terror attacks by implementing the Belfast Agreement in full, the outgoing SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, claimed tonight.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who will stand down as leader of the party next month, told a fringe event at the British Labour Party conference in Brighton that paramilitary decommissioning would greatly strengthen Northern Ireland’s political institutions.
However the Foyle MP criticised moves by unionists to exclude Sinn Fein ministers from the power-sharing Executive in a bid to force IRA disarmament, claiming it would only make matters worse.
"Central to peace and stability is the full implementation of the Agreement in all its aspects," he told an SDLP fringe event attended by Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid.
"I call on those with influence to use that influence now to bring about a swift resolution of the arms issue so that we can get on with the job of leaving our past behind us.
"Let me say also that there should be no attempt by any party to use the working of the institutions as a bargaining chip. Seeking to exclude any party from the process will not resolve the situation, it will only make it worse."
Mr Hume was speaking just hours after Ulster Unionist MLA Ms Pauline Armitage backed a Democratic Unionist Party motion in the Northern Ireland Assembly seeking to remove Sinn Fein ministers Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre de Brun from office.
Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble had been working on his own exclusion motion amid growing unionist anger at the failure of the IRA to disarm and the arrests of three Irish republicans in Colombia on suspicion of training left-wing rebels.
The SDLP leader also used his speech to condemn loyalists who killed Sunday World investigative journalist Mr Martin O'Hagan.
Describing Mr O'Hagan as an "outstanding" reporter, he said it was clear his killers were intent on overthrowing the Belfast Agreement and ensuring there was no restoration of law and order.
"They want to continue with their Mafia activities and their drug dealing operations," he said.
"I want to see every effort being made to bring those behind such activities to justice and to make sure that the destruction they bring to Northern Ireland is a thing of the past."
Mr Hume extended sympathy to the people of the US and their politicians, including President George Bush, in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
"As the world lives through the dark consequences of the horror of September 11, there is a natural worldwide concentration on conflict resolution. We, the people of Northern Ireland, are in a position to offer the world some much needed good news. We can show the world that dialogue, politics and leadership can map a course away from despair, darkness and death.
"We can highlight the fact that there is a better way and we can do that through making the Good Friday Agreement a beacon for the world in these dark and uncertain times. We can and must lead the way. Let all parties do so," he said.
PA