Paisley, Ahern call for action from IRA
Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley held talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today, with both sides stressing they want to see action on decommissioning, not just words, from the IRA.
The Irish and British governments are awaiting the IRA’s response to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ call for them to commit to democratic means and declare the armed struggle over.
A statement is expected during the summer, and Mr Ahern said after today’s talks at the Irish Embassy in London that he hoped to see it before his annual holiday in August, though he could not be certain it would emerge before early autumn.
Mr Ahern said he was “not too concerned” about the timing of the statement, so long as it contained the elements needed to restore confidence and move the Good Friday Agreement process forward.
“To move forward, we need a clear, unambiguous end of all paramilitary and criminal activity and we need to see the completion of decommissioning,” he said.
But he stressed: “It is not just words. It is deeds.
“If we get a statement on the issues I have mentioned, we would be very happy with the statement, but we would naturally enough want to see that they happen.”
Speaking outside the embassy after his 90 minutes of talks with the Taoiseach, Mr Paisley said: “Everybody has their tongue out waiting for a statement from the IRA. We haven’t got our tongues out.
“What the IRA says is totally meaningless, except we have action.
“We are not looking for statements. We are looking for action.”
Mr Paisley made clear that he did not envisage a return to negotiations over power sharing with Sinn Féin immediately after any statement, suggesting that it would be a matter of months before it would be possible to see whether the IRA was making good on any promises it might make.
He said that before the people could be expected to allow Sinn Féin any part in the governance of the North, he would expect the Dublin Government to declare that it regarded Mr Adams’ party as a fit partner.
