UDA decommissioning move welcomed

THE Government has welcomed indications that one of the main loyalist paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland is preparing to decommission.

In a statement read out to supporters at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Rathcoole in the outskirts of Belfast yesterday, the UDA said it wanted to discuss its future with the British Government.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said he would welcome moves by all paramilitary groups towards decommissioning. Mr Ahern said any efforts to bring about a lasting settlement in the North should be praised.

The minister is scheduled to meet Northern Secretary Peter Hain for talks at Hillsborough Castle today at which the UDA's overtures will be discussed in detail.

Reacting to this latest development in the wake of the IRA's decommissioning, the SDLP's Alex Atwood said the loyalist paramilitaries would have to go beyond words.

UUP leader Sir Reg Empey said the UDA statement pointed towards the likelihood of an intense push to restore devolution in Northern Ireland.

"If you take it together with the LVF's declaration that it is winding down, the UVF's internal debate and Gerry Adams's comments that the war is over, if there are serious measures to address the loyalist community's concerns and positive IMC reports in January and April, I think we will have the potential for significant progress."