US Ambassador: IRA must act on promises

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 held private talks for almost an hour in the Regeneration Project's first-floor office.

He only spoke briefly to the media before he left for an undisclosed location.

Mr Tuttle, who is on the final day of a two-day visit, said he was very impressed by the initiative.

“What a terrific project and what I think is so important as a businessman, or I was a businessman before I became an ambassador, is that this is an economically viable project which is bringing together the two communities,” he said.

Asked about the main reason for his visit to the North, Mr Tuttle said: “I am hear to really learn and to listen.

“We have a consulate here, which I believe is the second oldest consulate. I think it was started in 1796.

“It’s a part of my job as ambassador and I am going to go all over the United Kingdom and reach out.

“This was an important place that I wanted to come to and really learn about Northern Ireland.”

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.

Mr Tuttle was sworn in by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month.

The father-of-two from California is a co-managing partner of one of the largest car dealers in the US.

His public sector career began more than 20 years ago when he joined the White House staff as an assistant to President Reagan.