The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, has called for a round table meeting of representatives of the two governments and of all of the parties signed up to the Belfast Agreement within a week, to be attended by the chairman of the decommissioning body, Gen John de Chastelain.
Its purpose would be to hear what the general has been told by the IRA and other paramilitary groups in relation to the decommissioning of illegal weapons, Mr Bruton said during a visit to Cavan. Mr Bruton said that if all the parties were sitting around the table with Gen de Chastelain then the republican movement would have to answer Seamus Mallon's question: "Are you going to decommission and when are you going to decommission?"
The Fine Gael leader stated in interviews that the question of illegal weapons was not a private business. It was a matter of public concern and must be resolved. Equally if there were other problems which had to be resolved they should also be put on the table to be discussed.
He said that the current atmosphere of secrecy was wrong. The secret diplomacy of the last several months had not solved the problem.
Secrecy was the enemy of trust and a round-table conference with the general would be in keeping with an atmosphere of openness, transparency and accountability which was necessary in a democracy.