The leader of the North's Alliance Party, Mr David Ford, has called on paramilitaries on both sides to begin decommissioning if the peace process is to be saved.
In his first address as party leader, Mr Ford told delegates at the party's conference in Belfast that the issue of weapons at large remained the single biggest obstacle to resolving outstanding issues and guaranteeing the stability of the North's institutions.
The Alliance leader stressed that paramilitary groups were obliged under the terms of the Belfast Agreement to deliver on the arms issue.
"There is a clear need for both loyalists and republicans to deliver. This is not because hard-line unionists say they must, or even because I say so, but because it is part of their obligations under the agreement and they have promised action on numerous occasions," he said.
While the Belfast Agreement remained the only way forward, it appeared to promote a society based on "two separate communities living in uncertain co-existence", Mr Ford said.
"There is no glue to hold society together, just a sort of Band-Aid approach sticking over divisions rather than seeking to heal them," he said.
"As leader of Alliance, I utterly reject the notion that we are to be forever regarded as two tribes in an uneasy truce rather than a united community that cherishes true diversity." Mr Ford criticised the Government for last weekend's State funerals.
"To organise a state funeral for men whom the Minister of Justice described as 'martyrs' just a month after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington is more than a mistake," he said.
Mr Ford accused the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, of demonstrating a "half-hearted commitment" to power-sharing saying the former First Minister had repeatedly put party unity before the greater good of society.
As for the Holy Cross school stand-off in north Belfast, the Alliance leader said it was "pious waffle" to claim that there were two sides to the dispute. "There should not be anything to discuss because the school protest is immoral and should end immediately."