Reid steps up pressure on IRA over arms
The British Government is determined to make enough progress on IRA disarmament to prevent David Trimble’s resignation as Northern Ireland First Minister, it was claimed today.
With one week to go before Mr Trimble’s resignation letter in the Stormont Assembly comes into effect, Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid maintained the pressure on Sinn Fein to secure a gesture by the IRA on its weapons.
But despite the IRA insisting last Wednesday it is not prepared to respond to unionist ultimatums or British Government pressure, Dr Reid refused to contemplate that Mr Trimble’s resignation was inevitable.
‘‘I don’t accept that there is no prospect of making further progress on the issue of paramilitary arms before next Sunday and I will certainly continue to do my best to see that there is progress,’’ he said.
‘‘However, this is a (peace) process which will continue. It has been going on four or five years. In its roots it goes back up to 10 or 15 years and it’s addressing a problem that goes back somewhere between 80 and several hundred years.
‘‘While there are deadlines for all of these things, it is a process which will continue.
‘‘I want to see us creating the circumstances where no leader has to resign or walk away from this.’’
Dr Reid said he had the ‘‘greatest respect’’ for Mr Trimble whose political future was a matter for him and the Ulster Unionist Party.
He claimed the Northern Ireland First Minister was a tough negotiator who had won international respect for his courage in driving the political process forward.
But he also argued: ‘‘I think he is representing, at the present, the views of a great many of his constituents - not just on the unionist side but on the nationalist side.
‘‘We have to have further movement on the question of putting paramilitary arms beyond use because that is part of this Agreement and there is a feeling that the progress is being imbalanced.
‘‘It is fine that there has been movement on paramilitary arms. There has not been any guns by the IRA visibly being seen to be put beyond use.’’
Dr Reid also said that the arms issue was a matter for all parties and he argued the context was now being set for all the paramilitaries to put their weapons beyond use.
He insisted progress had been made on establishing the democratic, institutional, social and constitutional advances required for movement on decommissioning.
Dr Reid observed: ‘‘It is not antagonism towards the Agreement that is causing concern among the broad swathe of people in Northern Ireland, it is the rate of implementation of different aspects of it.’’
