The main business, trade union and economic development bodies in Northern Ireland have jointly called for the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement. They reject the view of some unionists that the all-party Executive should be suspended or abandoned.
The Group of 7, founded in 1996 to represent significant interests within civil society, said yesterday it could not understand "how the problems which undoubtedly exist would be more readily resolved outside the agreement than inside it. Nor can we understand how the collapse of the institutions and the restoration of some form of direct rule would aid their resolution."
With the Ulster Unionist Council to hold a crucial meeting in Belfast tomorrow week, the group warned that the collapse of the new political institutions for a second time "would deal a savage blow to Northern Ireland's credibility worldwide and to the sterling work which is being done to get Northern Ireland back into the market for investment and jobs".
The statement is clearly designed to influence those attending that meeting, which is likely to hear calls for a suspension of or abandonment of the new political institutions in Northern Ireland until unionist concerns over decommissioning and police reform are met.
The statement is signed by leaders of the Confederation of British Industry, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Institute of Directors, the Northern Ireland Economic Council, the Federation of Small Businesses, Northern Ireland Growth Challenge and the Northern Ireland Hospitality Federation.
The Group of 7, chaired by Sir George Quigley, says it had expected that two-and-a-half years after its signing, the Belfast Agreement would be well on the way to full implementation, "particularly in the light of the clear statements issued by all the key players last May when the resumption of the Assembly was announced. We had expected that the political atmosphere would be transformed and that we would all be focusing forward towards an inclusive, prosperous, outward looking society."
The group said it did not believe the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted again to lose the ability to govern themselves, no matter how dissatisfied some of them were with certain aspects of the agreement. "There is a heavy onus of proof on those who recommend temporary or permanent abandonment of the executive to say exactly what they can guarantee to deliver as a durable alternative, commanding the widespread support which ensures stability.
"No such alternative has been offered. In its absence we strongly support the existing arrangements."
The group said it is also essential to get the outstanding issues under the agreement resolved. This would only be done "by the governments and the parties getting together urgently to thrash out solutions with which each one of them can live, even though none of them may be entirely comfortable with any of them. There is an onus on all to strive to accommodate each other's concerns."
It said people were becoming impatient that full implementation was taking so long and that uncertainty persisted.