February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The report’s claims, which had been widely leaked in advance, sparked some well-rehearsed anger from the main unionist parties and predictable denials from Sinn Fein but had little or no impact on the already log-jammed political process.
The Commission is, in itself, a bone of contention as it was formed at the behest of the former Ulster Unionist Party leader, David Trimble, and all its five members are closely associated with the Irish, British and US security establishments.
In its fifth report to the Irish and British governments, the Commission said loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for more violence than republicans. “PIRA (the Provisional IRA)”, it said, “continues to seek to maintain its medium term effectiveness.
“It (the IRA) recruits and trains new members, including in the use of firearms and explosives,” the report said, adding that it “continues to gather intelligence”.
It pointed out that at the end of September 2004, police discovered 10,000 rounds of IRA ammunition of a type not previously found and manufactured since the Good Friday Agreement.
“This may have been only part of a larger consignment and it demonstrates PIRA’s continuing efforts to maintain its preparedness,” the report said.
On the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney on January 30th, the IMC only said it believed members of Provisional IRA were involved. It did not believe the IRA leadership sanctioned the killing in advance.
It said that if the Sinn F