Blaming Unionists and the British government for seeking an end to the activities of the IRA is no longer a credible Sinn Féin position. Five years ago, overwhelming majorities in both parts of this island voted against all paramilitary activity and for a new political dispensation under the Belfast Agreement.
Since then, there has been painstaking progress, interrupted by suspensions of the institutions as trust broke down between the pro-Agreement parties. Last November, the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, called for "acts of completion" on demilitarisation, decommissioning, policing and the stability of institutions. A blueprint for political progress was devised by the Irish and British governments, following intensive discussions with the pro-Agreement parties. But, in the absence of a clear statement by the IRA on its future intentions, details of that document are unlikely to be published and distrust between the parties will continue.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, warned at the weekend that failure to resolve the present difficulties will involve a terrible risk for the political process. And he appealed for greater clarity from those who were making the transition to exclusively democratic means in the North. Yesterday, Mr Blair, took up the theme and sought clarification on three specific issues. Did the IRA statement mean an end to targeting, the procurement of weapons and punishment beatings? Did it mean all weapons would be decommissioned? And did it mean that if the two governments and the other parties fulfilled their obligations there would be a complete and final closure to the conflict?
Those are absolutely basic questions. And they require clear and unambiguous answers from the IRA. The people from both communities who voted for the Belfast Agreement believed those questions would be answered in the affirmative. If the IRA will not, or cannot, provide the clarifications that are now being sought by the Irish, British and United States governments then the prospect of a deal - described as "tantalisingly close" by Mr Blair - could recede into the autumn.
Mr Blair's initiative was prompted by a flurry of recent statements from Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, and its chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, that the IRA document was "clear and unambiguous". That is not the view in Dublin, London or Washington. And it is certainly not the belief of the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, who has made it absolutely plain his party will not participate in a new executive with Sinn Féin under such circumstances.
Rather than address the questions concerning the intentions of the IRA yesterday, a rattled Mr McGuinness accused Mr Trimble of seeking its surrender ahead of the May elections. But republicans always knew the guns would have to be "banjaxed". It is time they acted upon that democratic insight.