The republican movement is "highly offended" by Rev Ian Paisley's assertion that republicans must be "humiliated", Sinn Féin President Mr Gerry Adams said today.
Speaking before a meeting with the Taoiseach in Government Buildings today, Mr Adams made his dissatisfaction clear to reporters but said that both sides needed to be moderate in their comments.
He said Sinn Féin had entered the negotiations "with a view to getting the DUP over the line" and to get "a comprehensive agreement" and that comments such as Dr Paisley's made it more difficult to marshal the republican community.
DUP leader, Rev Ian Paisley
The Democratic Unionist leader today repeated comments he made at a meeting in the DUP heartland of Ballymena on Saturday where he said "the IRA needs to be humiliated. And they need to wear their sackcloth and ashes, not in a backroom but openly. And we have no apology to make for the stand we are taking."
The speech was filmed by the BBC and broadcast last night. Neither government commented on the remarks.
Mr Adams said the comments were unhelpful and that many republicans and nationalists will resent the remarks. "The politics of humiliation has not worked they are the politics of failure ... we are not about the politics of liberation not the politics of humiliation," Mr Adams said after his meeting with Mr Ahern.
He refused to delve further into the meaning or consequences of the remarks but urged "those who really want to do a deal to try and couch it in terms which they would find acceptable to themselves".
This afternoon Dr Paisley is meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in London in a bid to resolve concerns about IRA disarmament.
On his way into the meeting Dr Paisley repeated his "sack cloth and ashes" comments but said the talks were moving in the right direction. "We are moving, I believe, in the right direction but there are some very important matters that still have to be dealt with and the most important matter is decommissioning.
"Until the people of Northern Ireland see that the arms of the IRA are put away ... we can't really look any further."
It is understood Dr Paisley will seek further assurances from the British government about the nature and transparency of any act of IRA decommissioning while Sinn Fein are particularly concerned about demilitarisation.
The Taoiseach yesterday addressed republican concerns by calling on the British to speed up the process of troop withdrawal and the dismantling of installations and talks took place between the Sinn Féin leadership and Chief Constable Hugh Orde, in Downing Street.
Both sides described the meeting as useful but republicans were particularly anxious to ensure that the chief constable could approve a massive programme of demilitarisation in Northern Ireland in the event of a comprehensive peace process deal.
Democratic Unionists yesterday met the head of the Independent International Mission on Decommissioning, Gen John de Chastelain, in his Belfast offices.