A commentary from the Irish News
THIS should be a time of significant political progress, of developing relationships and of enormous opportunities.
Instead, confusion, disagreement and a basic lack of trust are all yet again casting a dark shadow over the new structures.
It is particularly ironic that, within the Northern Ireland executive, every indication is that all our ministers can point to concrete achievements and a realistic appreciation of sensitivities across the divide.
Unfortunately, there is a grave and imminent danger that outside factors could result in the removal of the powers which are being used to such beneficial effect on behalf of the entire community.
Decommissioning is at the root of our difficulties and it is bitterly disappointing, if not totally surprising, that it has returned to haunt us.
General John de Chastelain is due to deliver his crucial report on Monday and the firm belief, as of last night, was that he had little of substance on which to base his conclusions.
There is still time for movement to take place and it is crucial that all concerned concentrate their minds on this overriding priority.
Most of the debate in recent weeks has focused on David Trimble and the forthcoming meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council.
This is understandable, but it is even more essential that full attention is paid to feelings in the wider unionist population and equally across nationalism generally.
There can be no room for doubt about the general mood within nationalism about what needs to happen next.
The vast majority of nationalists want to see the decommissioning issue resolved immediately and the executive not only preserved but strengthened.
Last weekend’s opinion poll in the Irish Times said that 86 per cent of southern respondents favoured decommissioning not in a period of weeks or months but here and now.
It can be confidently predicted that northern nationalists are of the same mind and would be appalled if any failure in this area resulted in the collapse of the executive.
Decommissioning should therefore be seen not as some form of precondition from Mr Trimble but rather as the subject of a heartfelt plea from the nationalist people of Ireland, north and south.
The Good Friday agreement laid down a fair 24-month timetable for the removal of paramilitary arms and some voices have suggested that May 2000 should be regarded as the only deadline which matters in this regard.
It needs to be stressed that 21 of those 24 months have passed without any evidence of arms being put beyond use, a reality which has only served to encourage the most negative elements in unionism.
The simple truth is that the Omagh atrocity of August 1998 - just four months after the signing of the agreement - offered a rare chance to replace evil with hope.
Mainstream republicans did not carry out the outrage, but the source of the explosives and expertise involved has been widely acknowledged.
If the republican leadership had responded decisively at that stage, the decommissioning argument would effectively have been over.
Instead, last summer saw the Good Friday agreement and all its timetables seriously undermined by attempts to import guns from the USA and the murder of Charles Bennett and others.
It was hardly surprising that unionists needed firm reassurances about republican intentions and it had been thought that the Mitchell review of last November had provided the solution.
Although precise details were not committed to paper, there was a clear understanding among unionists and nationalists that events would take a certain course during the month of January.
It was on this basis that the executive was launched in December and the cross-border bodies began their important work.
Nothing definite on decommissioning has so far emerged and it is impossible to pretend that the political process has not been damaged as a result.
It is essential to point out that republicans have made a central contribution to the historic advances of recent years.
They have made many sacrifices, revised outdated thinking and taken serious risks in the interests of a peaceful settlement.
Republicans have also enjoyed the immense benefits of the prisoner release programme, the widespread acceptance of the equality agenda and, only last week, Peter Mandelson’s endorsement of the Patten report on policing.
Furthermore, republicans sit in government in the north and are poised for further breakthroughs in the Dail.
In all the circumstances, the idea that it is valid for republicans to retain their full arsenal cannot be justified.
Republicans have spoken frequently and with sincerity of their concern for the feelings of ordinary unionists.
The opportunity exists today for republicans to display that, without compromising their principles or their aspirations, they can help to remove the sense of fear which has forced the two traditions in Ireland apart for so long.
Loyalists also have a heavy responsibility to take similar action, although it must be recognised that they do not hold ministerial posts and are unlikely to do so for many years to come.
The British authorities can also assist by continuing to reduce security levels, particularly in border regions, although the threat from the various small dissident groups cannot be ignored.
There have been suggestions that a suspension of the executive, to be followed by yet another review of proceedings, would represent a short-term difficulty rather than a full-blown crisis.
Such a view would be deeply flawed. The credibility of the new structures is very much at stake and the perception that we are to be governed by what would amount to a revolving-door executive would be disturbing.
Republicans have a range of options in front of them which can provide the stability which is so urgently required.
If they take the appropriate initiative, a bright future lies ahead for all sections of society.