IRA source rules out decommissioning move
Further evidence that the IRA will not be making any significant move on decommissioning came this afternoon when it said the weapons issue could be resolved, but not on British terms or as the result of ultimatums from unionists.
In a briefing given to journalists in Belfast this afternoon, a senior IRA source said it has honoured its commitments and anyone contradicting that was deluding themselves.
The source said that last year the IRA struck a deal with the British government but on two major points, policing and demilitarisation, the British side had reneged. Anyone trying to contradict them, he said, was being dishonest and were deluding themselves and the public.
The IRA source said the issue of arms could still be resolved, but this would not happen as the result of unionist ultimatums or on British terms. Seven years after the first IRA cessation, he said, it posed no threat to the peace process.
This afternoon's briefing is a further indication that the IRA will not be making the radical move on decommissioning demanded by the Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, to stave off his threatened resignation on July 1st.
