The SDLP and Sinn Fein have rejected a call by the First Minister for a moratorium on the implementation of the Patten proposals and a reopening of the debate on whether the RUC name should be retained.
As he prepares for a difficult Ulster Unionist Party annual conference in Belfast on Saturday, Mr David Trimble accused the British government of "cravenness" in its attitude to the proposed Patten police reforms.
He was also critical of the Dublin, Washington and SDLP stance on policing. "Dublin, in particular urged on by Seamus Mallon, wants to proceed with police reform as if decommissioning has already happened," Mr Trimble wrote in yesterday's Daily Telegraph.
Referring to recent demilitarisation measures and the decision to allow 21 escaped republican prisoners to avoid having to complete their sentences, Mr Trimble said the British government was surrendering to terrorism.
It was unfair to expect unionists to sustain the "lion's share of the pain" in implementing the Belfast Agreement. "Having come so far in Northern Ireland, it would be a tragedy if the nihilist extremes had their prejudices confirmed through weakness in the face of republican and nationalist bluster," he said.
The UUP's deputy leader at Westminster, Mr John Taylor, also said yesterday that the agreement was in danger of collapse over decommissioning and police reform proposals. "It certainly cannot survive in the present circumstances. Its days are numbered. I am certainly talking in terms of months," he said.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, expressed confidence the IRA would move on arms, and said a "bogus" crisis was being created. "The IRA's overall commitment to the peace process is transparent and a matter of public record. It said it would allow regular inspections of arms dumps and would re-engage with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. It's my view it will do that."
Mr Adams held to Sinn Fein's position that the Patten report should be fully implemented and again accused pro-agreement Ulster Unionists of failing to sell the advantages of the agreement.
He said it would be "absolute folly" for the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, to suspend the Assembly again. "The British government behaved in a totally unilateral and illegal way last time. It would be the British government repeating this mistake, and history repeated is not just farce but tragedy."
The UUP Minister of Arts, Mr Michael McGimpsey, said Mr Adams was "in denial" if he believed the UUP was creating a bogus crisis. He said if the current difficulties were not overcome, Mr Mandelson might have no option but to suspend the agreement, as he did in February.
Mr Alex Attwood MLA (SDLP) said unionists should acknowledge how the wider political landscape would be transformed if acceptable policing structures were established.
"It would mean for the first time that we have government with consent and policing with consent. It confirms that persuasion not coercion is the only way to conduct our political affairs and that nationalists will work fully within the agreed political and policing structures. This is a cultural and political leap by nationalists, is of immense significance and can offer immense reassurance to unionism," Mr Attwood added.
A DUP motion of no confidence in Mr Trimble will be debated in the Assembly next Tuesday. The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, said Mr Trimble should resign if his entire party did not support him.
