N. Ireland snubs cease-fire plea

Blair: "It is not enough ... to think there is some tolerated level of violence."

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Protestants and Catholics have reacted disparagingly to Tony Blair's plea to Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups to adhere to the Good Friday Agreement.

The UK prime minister warned rival loyalist and nationalist paramilitaries in a House of Commons statement on Wednesday to reject violence and adhere to cease-fire agreements laid down in the 1998 peace deal.

But he fell short of adopting pro-British Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) demands that Sinn Fein face sanctions or a ban from the region's power-sharing government, the Stormont Assembly.

His appeal came against a backdrop of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland that has led Catholics and Protestants to allege each side is breaking the cease-fire agreements.

The IRA's political allies Sinn Finn said the government was placing too much emphasis on Irish Republican Army cease-fire violations at a time when Protestant paramilitaries were carrying out some of the most high-profile attacks.

Northern Ireland is expecting demonstrations next week to mark the death of 19-year-old Catholic Gerard Lawlor who was shot by loyalist sectarians in north Belfast.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Northern Ireland's rival paramilitaries warned to reject violence. CNN's Diana Muriel reports (July 24) Play video   EXTRA INFORMATION In depth: Conflict and hope in Northern Ireland  Full text: IRA apology     QUICKVOTE Should PM Tony Blair have issued a stronger ultimatum on paramilitaries and political parties in Northern Ireland? Yes No View Results

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "The real crisis is the rising sectarianism in our society, and the failure of all leaders to address it.

"The reality is that people in Belfast are living in fear of attacks from the UDA, not the IRA."

Meanwhile, the UUP warned that power-sharing, the central achievement of the peace accord, faced suspension or collapse within months.

Northern Ireland's First Minister and UUP leader David Trimble said: "It was a 'nearly' statement that got close to saying what needed to be said."

Trimble has threatened to resign -- as he has twice before -- if action is not taken against nationalist sectarian violence.

The loyalists point to a series of incidents involving alleged members of the IRA, including the claim that the group had sent senior members to Colombia to train rebels and develop new weapons.

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid told the Commons on Wednesday that over the previous 72 hours "five attempted murders, eight shootings, two sectarian arson attacks and four serious public order incidents," had taken place.

The violence looked set to continue after an explosion went off at the home of Lord Brookeborough, grandson of a former Protestant prime minister of Northern Ireland.

The Continuity IRA said it had set off a bomb at Colebrooke near the border with the Republic of Ireland. (Full Story)

Trimble has threatened to resign unless action is taken

In a separate incident, a security alert at Belfast International Airport, was reported on Wednesday night.

AP also reported that suspected IRA dissidents had tried but failed to hijack the main Dublin-to-Belfast train.

Reid had asked for a "measure of responsibility and trust" from Sinn Fein in its role as government partner.

He also said he had asked British legal officials to recommend ways to strengthen police powers and criminal legislation to make it easier to convict truce-violating militants.

More police and security forces will be placed in north Belfast where most of the violence has occurred, to levels not reached since the beginning of the cease-fire.

Blair had told both sides: "It is not enough for people to be on cease-fire and think there is some tolerated level of violence. (Full Story)

"Now more than four years after the agreement was signed it is increasingly urgent that it be clear that paramilitary organisations are not engaged in any preparation of terrorism and they should be stood down altogether as soon as possible.

"But if there are, in future, such fundamental breaches of the commitment to exclusively peaceful means, they will be taken into account in assessing the cease-fires.

"It is right that with the passage of time, these judgments should become increasingly rigorous."