IRA in arms breakthrough

BBC ^ | 23rd Oct 2001 | BBC

[slhill]

The IRA has said it has put some weapons "beyond use" in what will be widely seen as an historic breakthrough for the Northern Ireland peace process. Confirmation of what the IRA called an "unprecedented" move came in a statement on Tuesday. The IRA leadership confirmed that a scheme agreed with the decommissioning body in August to put weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use" had been implemented.

"This unprecedented move is to save the peace process and to persuade others of our genuine intentions" --IRA statement

This is the first time that a republican group which has violently resisted the British presence in Ireland has ever disposed of weaponry. The move - long demanded by unionists - seems certain to breathe new life into the troubled peace process. As yet there is no detail as to what quantity of arms was involved or where it occurred. If there is to be more detail, it may come in a report from the de Chastelain arms commission later.

'Process in jeopardy'

The statement referred to a political process on the "point of collapse" and said such a "collapse would certainly and eventually put the overall peace process in jeopardy". The IRA said its motivation was "to save the peace process". UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to make a statement on the IRA move later on Tuesday.

If the move is acceptable to Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, the Ulster Unionists, led by David Trimble, it could lead to the restoration of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive. The UK government is expected to respond swiftly to the move, possibly by scaling back on some controversial military bases in south Armagh.

The move by the IRA to begin decommissioning had been widely expected after a statement from Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams on Monday that he had recommended a "ground-breaking" step on the arms issue. The absence of decommissioning of arms has been a key stumbling block to progress in the stalled Northern Ireland political process. The leader of the nationalist SDLP, John Hume, said he hoped the move would lead to a positive response from Mr Trimble and his party in putting the institutions back in place.

The latest crisis was precipitated by David Trimble's resignation as first minister in July, a move designed to put pressure on the mainstream republican movement. In August, the IRA confirmed that it had agreed a scheme with the international arms decommissioning body to put arms "completely and verifiably beyond use". However, the unionists rejected the IRA statement, and Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid suspended the devolved institutions for one day to trigger another six-week negotiating period. That sparked fury among nationalists - with republicans accusing the British Government of pandering to the unionists. Less than a week after widespread speculation that decommissioning could begin, the IRA issued a new statement, withdrawing the offer it had put before General John de Chastelain's international arms body.

Political crisis

However, in September, the IRA said it would "intensify" its engagement with the de Chastelain commission.

Then, in October, David Trimble said he intended to bring the political crisis to a head by withdrawing the rest of the Ulster Unionist ministers because his party could no longer sit in the executive with Sinn Fein.

The Democratic Unionist Party also said it would withdraw its ministers from the executive.

The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, headed by General de Chastelain was set up under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and began its work on 24 September 1997.

Its role is to verify the decommissioning process.

[Benson_Carter]

uh, yeah, there's some backwards logic for ya... the Brits are there to prevent a civil war. Instead, they're the catalyst.

try again

[irishfest]

Substitute "America" for "the English", and "the Middle East" for "Ireland," and your justification for terrorism could havew been spoken by Osama himself. The killers of the IRA - - and the cutthroats in Afghanistan - - thank you.

"America" is not interested in occupying Afghanistan in anything that I am aware of. What are you saying is the justification for the Osama terrorism??

[slhill]

So you believe that the British have some sort of interest in a civil war, do you? And what interest might that be? Do they make money out of it? Do they achieve greater piece for their citizens? Do they achieve some bizarre form of political ascendancy? What, precisely, would be the point for the British?

[KEVLAR]

Well said, I often wonder why we only hear about the IRA guns. They the only ones armed?

[Benson_Carter]

the last foothold of the Crown's Empire? I dunno, you tell me.

What was that about Scottish self-determination vs oil off their coast???

[Timesink]

The American "patriots" in 1776 were terrorists to the English too. The English need to get out of Ireland and let them govern themselves. It has work for the USA.

They don't want to govern themselves. They want Ireland to take them over. Too bad the Irish government doesn't actually want them.

Nice propaganda, though!

[Benson_Carter]

no, of course not. there are plenty of equally armed murderous thugs on the other side of the equation (some even trained by British SAS) who have no heat on them whatsoever to decomission their arms, which they use to terrorize equal amounts of innocents.

[Timesink]

If you were genuinely concerned about "terrorism" in British-occupied northeast Ireland, you would be posting demands for the British government to crush the UDA, LVF and UFF that they armed and trained and directed for decades.

Careful, your biases are showing.

But, you are a phony.

Oh, ow, I feel so wounded by your rapier-like, witty insults.

[Timesink]

Let's see. The IRA wants Ireland to be self-governed, a free state.

The IRA wants to swap A darn shame the Irish government doesn't actually want this to happen, isn't it? They know many of the IRA are psycopathic killers, and they fully realize that if they did ever get to take over NI, the British loyalist nutbags there would create an IRA of their own and start bombing and killing all over again.

And if the United StateS of America did that 226 years ago, we would still be bowing to the Queen of England

If the soldiers of the Revolutionary War engaged in a campaign of mindless killing of innocent civilians, we probably still would indeed be part of the UK, since every sane person in the colonies would have turned against them.

You want to bleat about your political objectives, fine. But when you attempt to claim that heinous mass murder is fine as long as it's for your own pet project, you will always lose the debate.

[Benson_Carter]

please. it's YOU who are biased.

where is your demand for the disarming of the Red Hand Defenders and the UDA? Or do you support those murderers in their attempt to blockade, taunt, stone, and bomb little girls on their way to school? (their latest tactics)

[Benson_Carter]

BF, will you please school this person on what will really happen under re-unification? they are grossly misinformed.

[Timesink]

Or do you support those murderers in their attempt to blockade, taunt, stone, and bomb little girls on their way to school? (their latest tactics)

I find it disgusting, and I do not understand why the government there is allowing it to go on.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the Protestants are angels in this mess by any means. I fully believe that the militants on BOTH sides have long long since descended into pure psychosis. There is no winner. There isn't going to be. The only hope is compromise combined with a massive attempt to raise up a generation detatched enough from the generations of hatreds to deal with the issue rationally. Until then, this devolution thing is about the best anyone can hope for.

[45Auto]

The IRA will give up its arms like the ethnic Albanians gave up theirs....Sure, and the sun will rise in the west tomorrow....

[Benson_Carter]

no. you see the nationalist movement being silenced, the subjugation of a people by a foreign army occupying their soil as acceptable.

the only acceptable solution is to realise that Eire is an island of one people. If they can't live together peacefully, with one government as a voice for all people, then those who think they belong to any other society should rightly move to the country where that society is.

[OldFriend]

Peter King, when defending the IRA this past weekend in a radio interview, alluded to this so called breakthrough.

[cahergowan]

While I'm glad this move has been made, I am still quite wary. Now do the other factions of the IRA also decomission their weapons? Like the CIRA etc. Remember, these were the ones responsible for the August 98 Omagh bombing which killed innocent men, women and children, Protestant and Catholic on busy Saturday afternoon.

[kidd]

Yes, my stomach has been turned. (LOL)

I suspect that thinking people in Northern Ireland have come to the realization that once Afganistan is taken care of, that the US/UK coalition will look to the next group that causes them the most trouble. Who else is the UK more concerned about? This small olive branch may go a long way toward moving the IRA to a lower priority.