Posted on 07/28/2005 5:50:14 AM PDT by infocats
The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign.
This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon.
All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.
The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible.
We have invited two independent witnesses, from the Protestant and Catholic churches, to testify to this.
The Army Council took these decisions following an unprecedented internal discussion and consultation process with IRA units and Volunteers.
We appreciate the honest and forthright way in which the consultation process was carried out and the depth and content of the submissions. We are proud of the comradely way in which this truly historic discussion was conducted.
The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA Volunteers for the Sinn Féin peace strategy.
There is also widespread concern about the failure of the two governments and the unionists to fully engage in the peace process. This has created real difficulties.
The overwhelming majority of people in Ireland fully support this process.
They and friends of Irish unity throughout the world want to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
Notwithstanding these difficulties our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country.
It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage. We are very mindful of the sacrifices of our patriot dead, those who went to jail, Volunteers, their families and the wider republican base. We reiterate our view that the armed struggle was entirely legitimate.
We are conscious that many people suffered in the conflict. There is a compelling imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace.
The issue of the defence of nationalist and republican communities has been raised with us. There is a responsibility on society to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s.
There is also a universal responsibility to tackle sectarianism in all its forms.
The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation.
We call for maximum unity and effort by Irish republicans everywhere.
We are confident that by working together Irish republicans can achieve our objectives.
Every Volunteer is aware of the import of the decisions we have taken and all Óglaigh are compelled to fully comply with these orders.
There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process. This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for the people of Ireland.
The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation.
Our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland.
We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country."
Ping.
Is this the deal where Adams & McGuinness resign from the IRA leadership council positions they've always denied holding ?
Let's see the weapons - photos this time.
And Blair appeases them still, releasing a killer yesterday when they should be treated as any other terrorist rabble.
They know when they are beat.
Three cheers for peace, three cheers for the Republic.
Regards,
Irish_Links
The only appropriate response to this bunch of gangsters is;
"We accept your surrender, it is a mere 30 years and 3000 deaths too late but now that you have finally realised you could never win please do us all a favour and just f**k off, ok?"
Christ I hate them.
"They know when they are beat."
It's not that. The Irish have fought against hopeless odds since at least the time of Hugh O'Neill (ca. 1600) Now that Ireland is--finally--prosperous and stable, the last battles of the Reformation, indeed the last battles of Celt vs. "Saxon" may, at last, be over.
IRA = Northern Ireland
This comes about 15 years too late.
-from the son of American Fenians
No duh. My point is that with the entire island of Eire prosperous and stable, and with Irish Catholics in the north FINALLY enjoying equal rights vs. their Scots-"Irish" Presbyterian neighbors, the desire amongst Ulster Catholics for "Anschluss" with the Republic (and desire in the South for union) has abated. Were it not for the IRA, Catholics in Ulster would still be treated as second-class citizens by the Unionists, and they'd still be tormented on July 12 (Battle of the Boyne) and King "Billy's" birthday (whenever that is).
Yeah, right.
The P.I.R.A. giving up its arms has NOTHING to do with prosperity. It has to do with the recent bombing campaigns in the UK by muslims extremists. They dont want to be classified in that group with hamas, al qaeda, etc etc.
"Were it not for the IRA, Catholics in Ulster would still be treated as second-class citizens "
Were it not for the IRA, there would be many innocent people still alive. They are terrorists, killers and worse.
"Were it not for the IRA, there would be many innocent people still alive. They are terrorists, killers and worse."
The UDF goons were not exactly saints either, my ORANGE friend.
The UDF were not as NEARLY as active as the IRA was. Their activities were direct retaliation to IRA killing. And, at least the UDF weren't collaborating with Hamas, Farc, Hizbollah and company... My little terrorist sympathizing friend.
"And, at least the UDF weren't collaborating with Hamas, Farc, Hizbollah and company... My little terrorist sympathizing friend."
UDF didn't have to. They were backed by Westminster! Anyhow, it's good to know that anti-Catholic bigotry is not confined to the Left.
So it's OK to be a terrorist organization, killing innocents, as long as you're a touch less efficient at it than the competition?
Were you with the "lads" son?
You sound like you should write for Sinn Fein.
What's ironic is that the Republic of Ireland isn't just richer than the North (which is itself unprecedented), but that the Republic now has a higher per capita GDP than England. Imagine, 50 years ago, before billions in EU subsidies, Ireland was a third world country. Well... not anymore.
I'm not anti-catholic. I'm just anti-stupidity.
The IRA's technology and training methods have found its way to FARC and Israel(courtesy of Hamas with the IRA's improvised bunker-busting mortars). It's you that fails to see what they are doing, who they associate with and what they sell to terrorists groups.
_____________________________________________
" Manhunt for Real IRA's Bomb Expert in West Bank - Henry McDonald (Observer-UK)
The man arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport three weeks ago, traveling on a British passport.
IRA and Real IRA engineers are regarded as among the world's leading experts in both bomb- and mortar-making technology.
Links between Irish republican terror groups and Palestinian and other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations have existed since the Ulster Troubles began more than three decades ago.
The IRA learned the art of mortar-making in Lebanon, where their members trained with groups such as Hizballah."
__________________________________________________
"Israel Apprehends IRA Bomb Expert in West Bank - Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
John Morgan, a member of the dissident splinter group known as the Real IRA (Irish Republican Army), was arrested on Saturday at a checkpoint south of Ramallah on suspicion that he had come to Israel to teach Palestinian terrorists how to upgrade their explosives."
"IRA 'tested weapons' in Colombia"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2043156.stm
"On 11 August 2001, authorities in the Colombian capital Bogota said they had arrested three Irish men who had been in an area of the country controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), marxist rebels waging an ongoing guerrilla war.
What kind of attacks has the IRA carried out?
Since the late 1960s, the IRA has killed about 1,800 people, including about 650 civilians. The IRA’s primary targets were British troops, police officers, prison guards, and judges—many of them unarmed or off-duty—as well as rival paramilitary militants, drug dealers, and informers in Ulster. Major IRA terrorist attacks include:
* the July 1972 bombing spree known as Bloody Friday, in which downtown Belfast was rocked by 22 bombs in 75 minutes, leaving nine dead and 130 injured;
* the 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle;
* the 1984 bombing of a Brighton hotel where then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were meeting, which wounded several British officials and killed four other Britons;
* a 1993 car bombing in London’s financial district that killed one person and caused $1 billion of damage;
* mortar attacks on the British prime minister’s 10 Downing Street residence and London’s Heathrow Airport in the early 1990s;
* and high-profile bombings of civilian targets, including pubs and subway stations, in Northern Ireland and mainland Britain throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
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