Angry IRA slams Ahern and Blair over 'abuse of trust'
In a new statement released last night, the IRA revealed it met with the Independent Decommissioning Body and was preparing to engage in a fresh act of putting arms beyond use.
In the IRA statement of April 13, released for the first time last night, the IRA leadership told the governments the full and irreversible implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and other commitments would have created a context in which the IRA would have definitively set aside arms.
In its additional statement, the IRA accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair of publicly misquoting aspects of its statements in a clear breach of protocol. “The IRA leadership is committed to making the peace process work.
That is why we called our cessation. That is why we have maintained it. That is why we have taken a series of significant initiatives.
“That is why at the beginning of April we shared concepts and drafts with others. While that process was ongoing these concepts and drafts were mischievously leaked and misrepresented by the two governments. This was an abuse of trust.”
It added: “This and the subsequent word games have caused justifiable anger and annoyance.”
Last night, the governments were considering the new statement and did not issue an immediate response.
But Fianna Fáil Senator Martin Mansergh, the Taoiseach’s former adviser, said the original statement did not go far enough. Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said the publication of the statement proved it did not lack clarity.
In its statement last night, the IRA also affirmed that Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’s explanation of the IRA statement accurately reflected its position. Mr Adams said there would be no IRA activities which would undermine the Good Friday Agreement or the peace process.
The IRA’s statements, both signed by P O’Neill, will place Taoiseach Bertie Ahern under pressure today when the Dáil reconvenes.
Yesterday, the governments repeated there had to be an unambiguous response from the IRA on the issue of paramilitary activity. At a summit in Farmleigh House, Mr Ahern and Mr Blair said clear and unequivocal answers were needed to move the whole process forward.
But in its new statement, released last night, the IRA rejected any suggestion that there was a lack of clarity in its statement of April 13 which Mr Blair rejected as not being clear enough on the critical aspect of a cease to all paramilitary activity.
“There is no lack of clarity. Our statement and the commitments contained in it was dependent on agreement involving the two governments, the UUP and Sinn Fein,” the statement read.
The IRA said that in the event of agreement it was prepared to act immediately and its preparations were at an advanced stage.
“Regrettably the two governments and the UUP rejected our statement and our initiatives. Our April 13 statement has now been overtaken by events. We are placing it on the public record so that people can judge for themselves the significance of our proposed initiatives to advance the peace process,” it said.
With regard to putting arms beyond use, the IRA said its officials met several times with General John de Chastelian’s decommissioning body, as a way of gaining unionist trust.
