Nobel Peace Laureate David Trimble said the survival of the Northern Ireland peace process was currently in the hands of the IRA in a press conference yesterday morning at the Kennedy School of Government.

The Northern Ireland government, formed in early December, was suspended by Britain on Feb. 11 after the IRA refused to begin decommissioning their weapons.

Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, was included in the government, which included both Protestant and Catholic representatives.

Trimble had been instrumental in forming the government--"breaking the stalemate," he said--with the understanding that the IRA would begin decommissioning by February.

"There's clearly an onus on people to act," Trimble said. "Anything that falls short of [decommissioning] is inadequate."

Trimble is the leader of the Ulster Unionist party and the Northern Ireland government. He received the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in organizing the Good Friday Agreement, the peace treaty between Irish nationalist and Unionist groups.

While Trimble said a full decommission is necessary to ensure the reinstatement of the all-Northern Ireland government, he said he was not sure how events will unfold in the near future.

"There will be a period of reflection. We'll continue contact between the parties. I don't think anyone has a blueprint," he said.