IRA still at work, says Government 'leak'
The IRA is still recruiting, training and acquiring weapons, a document allegedly leaked from the Government claimed tonight.
According to the document obtained by a television station in Northern Ireland, the IRA’s continued activity is a precautionary tactic rather than a sign that it is returning to war.
The document, which surfaced on the eve of the latest round of multi-party talks to restore devolution, also claimed Sinn Fein was preparing for a move onto the policing board.
Ulster Television reported that the document from Dublin believed the IRA was “actively engaged in training, targeting, recruiting and acquiring small quantities of weapons as a precaution rather than in preparation for a return to war”.
It also said there was no evidence of an increase in republican activities.
However, the authors expressed concern that while for a generation of republicans the war was over, the generation following them did not have the same memory of the troubles.
It also said that the Government was worried that there could be a possible “fracturing or leeching away of Provisionals to dissidents if the leadership of republicanism were to pursue a policy of winding down the IRA.”
