IRA moves on arms

By Anne Cadwallader

BELFAST – The IRA has dramatically revived hopes of a breakthrough in the peace process by agreeing a method to deal with the arms question with the independent body set up to oversee decommissioning, and of putting its own weapons “completely and verifiably” beyond use.

It is unclear, however, if the Ulster Unionist Party will respond by re-engaging in the power-sharing Executive. Unionists are wrestling with the choice of either rejecting the IRA move – or accepting less than their demand for a start to actual decommissioning.

On Monday night, speaking after a meeting of his officer board, the Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, said he welcomed the move as significant but that it was not concrete enough.

“In the absence of actual decommissioning in a manner that will maximize public confidence, and also in the absence of the SDLP moving to support policing, then there is nothing at present for Ulster Unionists to respond to”, he said.

“There are moreover matters in the governments’ proposals, such as amnesty (for fugitives) to which we take the strongest exception”, he said. Trimble did not, however, reject the two governments’ proposals as UUP hardliners had earlier urged.

The International Independent Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) said in a surprise statement on August 6th that it has recently met an IRA representative, and that an acceptable method for putting its arms completely and verifiably beyond use was offered.

The brief statement from the IICD could be a key allowing the pro-Agreement parties to confirm their acceptance of the proposals released by the two governments on August 1st.

Those proposals include:

1. Significant changes to policing proposals to hold the new force more accountable to the public and bring it closer to the Patten Report recommendations

2. An indemnity for fugitives “on the run”, either loyalist or republican

+ a six-month rolling program for North/South Ministerial Council meetings to ensure Sinn Fein’s full inclusion at ministerial level

+ a pledge to demilitarize, but dependent on the perceived paramilitary threat and at the RUC Chief Constable’s discretion

+ an international judge to assess if full public inquiries are needed into high-profile cases of alleged collusion such as the Pat Finucane murder

+ a review of the workings of the Parades Commission (regarded as a concession to unionism).

Although hard-line unionists described the two governments’ document as “more concessions to the IRA,” Sinn Fein said the paper fell far short of what was required, specifically on policing and demilitarization.

Sinn Fein said the two governments’ paper requires much more work and that the revised governmental plan for implementing the Patten report on policing should be published.

There was also a bitter row between Sinn Fein and Trimble after he said, “there can’t be a moral vacuum at the heart of this. We are not legitimizing terrorism. It’s not all right to be in government by day and out engaged in other activities by night.”

Sinn Fein’s Bairbre de Brun called the comment “disgraceful.” She accused Trimble of trying to “distract attention from his failure to use his influence to arrest the nightly loyalist onslaught on the nationalist community and his responsibility for feeding the political instability within which attacks thrive”.

Welcoming the IRA’s agreement with the IICD, the Taoiseach said it was a move of “historic significance” and this was echoed by the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, who said the pro-Agreement parties should immediately build on the “unprecedented statement… [it is a] hugely historical breakthrough.”

Although the IRA has not said when it will begin decommissioning, or how, it is understood its statement of May 2000 remains in force. This said that there was a potential for dealing with the arms issue in the context of the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

The most important response to the IICD statement, however, will come from the Ulster Unionists. In an initial statement Trimble, said it was a move that brought the IRA level with the UVF, which has already agreed “modalities” for decommissioning with the IICD.

The UUP has been insisting that the one element it was waiting for was an IRA response on putting guns beyond use.

The Northern Irish Secretary, John Reid, said that he believed the statement could resolve the issue of decommissioning. Reid also warmly welcomed the statement, saying: “It is an important and I believe very significant step forward. I believe it provides the basis and the potential for rapidly resolving the arms issue.”

But hardline anti-Agreement Ulster Unionist MP David Burnside, South Antrim, said: “the package is being used by the republican movement to extract more concessions on policing. I will not take tokenism or gestures and I don’t believe the Ulster Unionist Party will.”