Paramilitaries now out of fashion - Murphy
Paramilitarism is fast going out of fashion Northern Ireland secretary, Paul Murphy said today.
Speaking in Belfast before travelling to Dublin, for discussions with Government ministers as London and Dublin bid to restore devolution to Northern Ireland. He said: “We have got a very, very critical couple of weeks ahead of us.
“There is a lot of work to be done by all of us.”
But he insisted there was no going back only forward.
He said he will be discussing with the Irish Government co-operation between the police forces on both sides of the border and how the two governments dealt with paramilitarism.
And he said: “Paramilitarism is very fast going out of fashion, people are frankly fed-up with it.”
He spelt out the Government’s bottom line to the IRA again as being “a cessation of paramilitary activity in all its forms – that is what we are looking for.”
Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern are due back in Northern Ireland on Monday for meetings with political parties.
When they met them at Hillsborough Castle with the parties last month they set March 3 as a date they wanted a resolution to the impasse.
Mr Murphy would not be tied to the deadline saying that the presence of the two prime ministers would add impetus to the search for a resolution, but added “let’s see what happens on Monday”.
However he added: “The reality is we have years ahead of us in terms of trying to get agreement on a new type of society, that is what the Good Friday Agreement is all about.”
He indicated his discussions on possible legislation to deal with paramilitarism was not just confined to the terror groups in Ireland.
“International terrorism has to be dealt with as well.”
