Trimble issues warning over IRA decommissioning deadline
Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble today warned that there would be "further consequences" should the IRA fail to meet the June deadline for decommissioning its weapons.
The Ulster Unionist leader, who has already suspended Sinn Fein ministers from attending North/South ministerial meetings with their Irish counterparts, said it was of "very great concern" that the republican group had not fulfilled the commitment to disarm it made a year ago.
After a meeting in Dublin with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen, Mr Trimble said: "It was in reliance on that promise that we took considerable risks to restore the institutions and to sustain them all through the last 12 months.
"At no time over that period have we seen any equivalent action by the republican movement in terms of carrying out their promises or even a willingness to make the sort of effort that we have made.
"If the republican movement let us all down again then we will have a very serious problem indeed."
He said his party had been prepared to take risks "not with the agreement but for the agreement".
He warned: "It was impossible for us to be sustaining full implementation of the agreement without any reciprocal action from others and consequently the failure of republicans to keep their promises has had consequences.
"I have to say continued failure by republicans to keep their promises will have further consequences - now we all hope that this issue can be resolved."
He said that hopes of progress in the stalled peace process, which peaked with multi-party talks at Hillsborough in March, were dashed by the fears of some sides to move before the British General Election.
He added that movement on issues such as decommissioning and policing could be achieved in the immediate aftermath of the poll.
Though there is speculation his party could lose support to anti-agreement unionists in the election, widely expected to be held on June 7, Mr Trimble said: "I am actually looking forward to the campaign. I am actually looking forward to the result.
"We are going to see, when the votes are counted, a very interesting result which I expect to see strengthening support for the difficult things that we have had to do but the courageous things that we have done."
