IRA never intended to destroy guns - Paisley
IRA resistance to disarmament photographs being taken proves the terrorists never intended to destroy their guns, the Rev Ian Paisley claimed today.
As London and Dublin tried to plot a way out of the impasse which derailed a historic peace deal between unionists and republicans in Northern Ireland, recriminations in Belfast intensified.
The IRA accused Mr Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), of trying to humiliate them by insisting on visual evidence of its huge arsenal being put beyond use.
Such demands were impossible to meet, the organisation said.
But Mr Paisley hit back at the Provisionals, declaring the organisation was simply not ready for peace.
He said: “The IRA had never any intention of decommissioning or being honest and honourable by allowing the people who have been humiliated by decades of IRA violence to see that their weapons are destroyed once and for all.
“The IRA celebrated their violence in the most public way possible. It is only right that those once terrorised are satisfied in a convincing way that terrorism by the IRA is no more.
“Another secret act of decommissioning will not satisfy the public to any degree acceptable.
“I believe the IRA’s reaction is proof that they cannot and will not be honest about the matter of decommissioning, and are therefore not ready for the democratic process. Neither are they committed to peace.”
Mr Paisley urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair to press ahead with pledges to form a new power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland containing parties committed to peace.
Earlier, in a statement issued through the republican newspaper An Phoblacht, the IRA disclosed the lengths it was prepared to go to in the event of a comprehensive peace process deal.
This included:
:: The IRA moving “into a new mode” reflecting a transition to a totally peaceful society;
:: The destruction of all IRA arms in a verifiable manner as soon as possible and, if possible, by the end of December in the presence of two clergymen;
:: All IRA members being given specific instructions not to engage in anything which could endanger a comprehensive peace process deal.
On the key question of weapons, the Provisionals said: “For his part, Ian Paisley demanded that our contribution be photographed, and reduced to an act of humiliation.
“This was never possible.
“Knowing this, he made this demand publicly, as the excuse for his rejection of an overall agreement to create a political context with the potential to remove the causes of conflict.
“As the IRA leadership has said before, this is a context in which Irish republicans and unionists can, as equals, pursue our respective political objectives peacefully.
“We restate our commitment to the peace process. But we will not submit to a process of humiliation.”
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