The Government said this evening it believed Sinn Fein was "totally committed" to the peace process and called on all pro-Agreement leaders not to allow "rumour" destabilise the Northern institutions.
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In a statement the Government said Northern Ireland had been "utterly transformed for the better" as a result of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement and commended all the pro-Agreement parties for their part in that transformation.
It said: "It would be an act of folly to put the future functioning of the Agreement and its institutions and the progress already made in jeopardy, for anything but the most compelling and unambiguous of reasons.
"It is the responsibility of democratically elected representatives on all sides in Northern Ireland not to allow rumour or suspicion concerning the intentions of paramilitary organisations, to undermine the stability of the institutions of the Agreement.
"To do otherwise would be to surrender political stability and progress to those who oppose peace and effectively allow them, rather than democratically elected political representatives, to decide the future of Northern Ireland," it said.
The Government said that although the "continuation of ceasefires" by paramilitary groups, and the two acts of decommissioning by the IRA, had made a "major contribution" to progress in the peace process, it was important that paramilitaries "avoid actions that may give rise to fears that their future intentions are other than peaceful".
The statement said: "the brutal murder of Gerard Lawlor, callously carried out by the UFF, reminds us all of what we are trying to leave behind. While no side is blameless for the scourge of sectarianism, its murderous expression is simply unacceptable.
"The Government commends those who, in difficult circumstances, have been attempting to calm the situation on the ground and to reduce tension, and calls on all those with influence in the two communities, to join that effort."