IRA must act on promises, says US ambassador

The newly appointed US ambassador to Britain today called on the IRA to back up its historic statement with actions.

On his first official visit to Northern Ireland, Robert Holmes Tuttle met local politicians and community leaders at a regeneration project in West Belfast, which has brought together both sides of the sectarian divide.

On the significance of the IRA’s pledge to decommission its arms, the Ambassador said: “I think the President (George Bush) said it best.

“It is a great step forward and I am really proud of everything that has been done but now we have got to see the actions.”

The Ambassador was heckled by half-a-dozen anti-war protestors after his meeting with the Stewartstown Road regeneration committee.

The cross community body was established to unite residents from the unionist Suffolk and nationalist Lenadoon estates, which are separated by a so-called peace-line.

The ambassador’s visit to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams’ West Belfast constituency comes as work begins on dismantling the infamous army watchtowers at Divis Towers.

For more than two decades, republicans claim the prominent landmark on the city skyline has been used by the British army, which is based on the 18th and 19th floors, to carry out surveillance on hundreds of Catholic homes.