The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, has challenged the Irish and British governments to state publicly whether they have abandoned the Belfast Agreement in favour of the Hillsborough Declaration.
"It is clear that the two governments, under pressure from David Trimble, have moved from the common ground of the Good Friday Agreement, shared by all pro-agreement parties last April, to the much narrower ground occupied by the Ulster Unionist Party," Mr Adams said yesterday.
"This may have been a genuine attempt to break the logjam created by the unionist tactical approach, but the reality is that the two governments are in breach of their obligations under the terms of the agreement. They have failed to establish the institutions and we are now into the second year of the document," added Mr Adams.
The governments needed to assure the public of their intentions, according to Mr Adams. "Sinn Fein is publicly challenging the British and Irish governments to publicly state whether they have abandoned the Good Friday Agreement in favour of the Hillsborough Declaration."
His comments came yesterday as the Women's Coalition and the Alliance Party expressed their concerns at the declaration.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, moved swiftly to reassure Sinn Fein that the two governments were not presenting the declaration as an alternative to the Belfast Agreement. The agreement was the "fundamental backstop" of the peace process, she said. The Hillsborough Declaration represented an effort by Mr Blair and Mr Ahern to overcome the obstacle of decommissioning so as to allow the formation of an executive, added Dr Mowlam.
"The Good Friday Agreement is what has governed us since it was brought into agreement by the parties and then by the people. It is the fundamental backstop which defines our activities as governments. That doesn't change and won't. It is not one versus the other, it is not a contradiction.
"One is a fundamental document, the other is something trying to find a way forward," added Dr Mowlam.