Nationalist backroom

Danny Morrison on Unionist speculation over the exclusion of Sinn Fein.

"When the first IRA cessation was announced in August 1994 loyalists jubilantly painted on gable walls that the IRA had surrendered. Unionists, such as Sir Reg Empey, claimed that the cessation represented a major defeat for republicans and that in the Good Friday Agreement republicans had bought into the union and recognition of the symbols of the state, etc. This was partly wishful thinking, but mostly was aimed at reassuring an increasingly unhappy rank and file."

Anthony McIntyre suggests that members of Sinn Fein, are not all agreed on their position re the PSNI - more here.

Meanwhile on the subscription based Irish Times website, Gerry Adams is reported as saying:

"...there is a need to focus on the peace process and the Good Friday agreement and for the Government in partnership with the British government to promote that agreement," he said. There were reports of a loyalist attack on three young Catholic men in Belfast on Saturday, of another drive-by shooting in the west of the city over the weekend and yet another meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party Council.

"What's the answer to all of this? The answer has to be that the two governments should take a course forward and tackle all the outstanding issues about the Good Friday agreement and for the British government to be reminded of its responsibilities to bring about change," he said."

The Andersonstown News calls for PSNI action on drive-by shootings.