The Belfast Agreement remained the only guaranteed way to deliver a better Northern Ireland, but it would not survive without support, the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, has said.
Calling on supporters of the agreement to go to the polls in forthcoming elections, Dr Reid warned voters not to disengage from the peace process. "It is not the time to despair. It is not the time to leave it to others, to stay at home", he said.
He acknowledged that unresolved issues such as policing, arms decommissioning and the smooth running of the political institutions continued to ham per the process, but emphasised that it was a process, not a "single event".
"To those who say that nothing has changed, I say look around you, cast your mind back and remember what things used to be like," he added.
Dr Reid said that anti-agreement groups had offered no alternative to the accord. The greatest threat to it now was not political opponents or dissident paramilitaries, but people taking its benefits for granted. "That's why the agreement needs the active support of people in Northern Ireland just as much today as it did three years ago in the referendum.
"This isn't a spectator sport. It is literally a matter of life and death and it requires the commitment of the whole community."
The DUP reacted angrily to Dr Reid's statement. The party's deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, described it as an "outrageous interference" in local politics. "If there was ever any doubt that David Trimble and the UUP were in serious trouble, it is dispelled by this intervention," Mr Robinson said.
"Having been subjected to this same kind of propaganda offensive at the time of the referendum, unionists will not allow themselves to be suckered by Labour lies," he added.
An Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Cecil Walker, dismissed the DUP claim that Dr Reid was attempting to mobilise UUP voters. "We are delivering for unionism and Northern Ireland; the DUP are continuing to play catch-up," he said.
Mr Walker rejected Dr Reid's criticism of the ban on Sinn Fein ministers attending meetings of cross-Border bodies. The Northern Secretary said in a radio interview that the Education Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness, and the Health Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brun, "shouldn't be treated as second-class citizens".
The Sinn Fein vice-president, Mr Pat Doherty, said Dr Reid was full of "good intentions" but he had yet to act on the ban imposed by Mr Trimble on Sinn Fein ministers attending meetings of the North/South Ministerial Council.
The Alliance Party leader, Mr Sean Neeson, welcomed Dr Reid's comments and said it was important that people took note of the benefits which had accrued from the agreement.