Paisley urges end to IRA's Army Council

24/10/2007 - 18:15:17
Ian Paisley issued a call for the IRA to disband its army council in a British House of Commons magazine, it emerged tonight.

The article was written before the murder last weekend of south Armagh man Paul Quinn – a killing his family blamed on the Provisionals.

The 21-year-old was lured over the border and beaten to death in Co Monaghan.

The North's First Minister argued the army council’s disbandment would boost confidence across the UK in the commitment of republicans to democracy and non-violence.

“While republicans have pledged their commitment to law and order, the Army Council of the Provisional IRA (PIRA) continues to exist,” he noted in the House magazine.

“The removal of this structure would be a confidence boost, not only to the unionist community, but to all the people of this United Kingdom.”

Sinn Féin leaders have been adamant that criminals and not republicans were behind the murder of Mr Quinn.

And while the DUP, which has been sharing power with Sinn Féin since May, has been cautious about attributing the murder to the Provisional leadership, police chiefs on both sides of the border have said at this stage there is no evidence to support claims that the IRA sanctioned the killing.

Gerry Adams has called for the south Armagh community to hand over the killers.

The murder was described by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the House of Commons today as brutal.

However the Prime Minister reiterated that it was too early to attribute blame.

“I echo the widespread condemnation of this event,” Mr Brown told DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, extending his sympathy to the Quinn family.

“The chief constable has stated there is an ongoing investigation, it would obviously be inappropriate to speculate on the responsibility at this time but I believe the police on both sides of the border are doing everything in their power.”

In his article, Mr Paisley welcomed the Independent Monitoring Commission’s last observation that the Provisional IRA had abandoned violence and that its structures would be stood down.

“All paramilitary structures, whether loyalist or republican, must be removed from our society,” he argued

“The republican movement still has its agenda, but through the power of democracy, we have succeeded in bringing about unbelievable change.

“It will only be by the embedding of devolution which is capable of delivering a secure future that the threat of future terrorism will not be merely diminished, but annihilated.”

In July 2005, the IRA announced an end to its armed campaign and it completed its disarmament programme two months later.

However some unionists have queried why the organisation has felt the need to retain an army council.