Taoiseach signals IRA statement imminent

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday gave his clearest signal yet that the IRA’s long awaited statement on decommissioning its weapons arsenal is imminent.

Mr Ahern told the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) conference in Belfast: “We are very close to the next movement of events in Northern Ireland.”

Pressed whether that meant he expected an IRA announcement within the next few weeks, the Taoiseach replied: “I hope that we will see movement to the next stage within the month and that would obviously include that.”

The looming statement is set to lay out the Republican movement’s response to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ call in early April for the IRA to pursue its aims through purely political and democratic activity.

The announcement is seen as key to unlocking the stalled peace process, but Unionists insist they will need to see “actions not words” from the IRA.

Mr Ahern used his ICTU speech to warn that criminal and paramilitary activity could no longer be tolerated as he could not settle for an “imperfect peace.”

“I do not wish to speculate on what might be said or done in the next few weeks, all I will say is that the policy of the Irish Government and the British Government is clear,” he said.

“We need to see an end to all paramilitary and criminal activity and the completion of decommissioning. It has to be clear. It has to be decisive. If that happens, we will expect Unionists to participate in genuine partnership politics.

“We cannot settle for an imperfect peace. We cannot be blind to the continued tension, fear and intimidation that still blight the lives of many people in communities in Belfast and across the North,” he added.

Dublin and London fear an upsurge in sectarian violence erupting as the marching season gets into full swing next month as it could badly damage any attempts to try and rebuild power-sharing.

“The vast majority of parades may pass off peacefully, but a small number may prove to be contentious,” Mr Ahern said.

Referring to the case of Sean Kelly, the IRA bomber ordered back into custody last week, Mr Ahern said that discussion with the British Government was ongoing but the case was now a matter for the Sentence Review Committee in the North. Kelly was one of the bombers responsible for a notorious 1993 attack on Shankill Road which left nine people dead.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said in the Dáil yesterday that the IRA had as many as 1,500 volunteers.