Sinn Féin leaders will "do everything" in their power to keep the Northern Ireland peace process going, the party chairman insisted today.
In an address to the Parnell Summer School in Co Wicklow, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin said the British government could help bring an end to the "armed force dimension of Irish republicanism" by fully implementing the Belfast Agreement.
But he also warned the cancellation in May of Assembly Elections in Northern Ireland could result in "the possible meltdown" of the political conditions that led to the Agreement.
"The Sinn Féin leadership are totally committed to doing everything in our power to maintain the peace process and to removing the guns forever from the politics of our country," he said.
"Decommissioning was addressed comprehensively in the negotiations leading up to Good Friday and is addressed directly in the Agreement itself.
"The section on decommissioning makes clear that addressing this issue is dependent on two key elements: A collective responsibility on all participants to work in good faith with the International Commission and the implementation of the overall Agreement.
Mr McLaughlin said the British government had been "a hugely negative factor" in Ireland but he acknowledged the role and the time Mr Blair had devoted to the quest for peace. "But he knows also, as does the Taoiseach, that we have made it clear that through the good faith implementation of this Agreement we can achieve an end to the 'armed force' dimension of Irish republicanism".
Devolution was suspended last October after the discovery of an alleged IRA spy ring at the Northern Ireland Office. Efforts to restore the power-sharing executive and Stormont Assembly have so far failed.
Assembly elections scheduled for May 29th were cancelled by Mr Blair four days into the campaign after republicans failed to issue a declaration clearly stating an end to all paramilitary activity.