IRA decommissioning: Your questions answered

Q – Just how vast was the quantity of arms and explosives decommissioned by the IRA.

A – General John de Chastelain and his team weighed all the explosives as well as counting and tagging every gun handed over. But even though they have a full inventory of the vast arsenal, details of just how much the IRA had hidden away were not revealed.

Q – Whereabouts in Ireland did it happen.

A – Apparently only the IRA know. The General, his two associates and the two churchmen who witnessed the minute-by-minute process were kept completely in the dark. For instance they were taken in the back of a van to secret locations before daybreak and it was late at night when they finished. No details were revealed about where they stayed, and how they knew where to first rendezvous with the Provisionals.

Q – How long did the process take.

A – The best part of a week and finished last Saturday. It was heavily supervised by senior IRA men, (including Belfast man Brian Keenan), who were involved in emptying all their dumps and transporting the arms to a location, believed to have been in the Irish Republic, where the counting and verification process started as early as 6am.

Q – How were the weapons decommissioned?

A – Even though the General said he was satisfied they will never be used again, he refused to disclose the method of how they were put beyond use. The General said he was unaware of any photographs being taken. Some security sources speculated tonight the arms could have been put into sealed containers and dumped at sea.

Q – Did the IRA retain some guns.

A – The General said he could not be sure. He was satisfied the quantities decommissioned tallied with security force estimates, but Unionists claimed it is inconceivable that the Provisionals handed over everything – a view shared tonight by some nationalists on the streets of west Belfast, the constituency of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.

Q – Is this the end of the IRA?

A – Republicans insist their campaign is over and are now committed to pursuing their aim of Irish re-unification by peaceful and democratic means. But the influence of the Provisionals is massive in the working class areas of Belfast and Derry and even though the punishment shootings have stopped, threats and intimidation remain.

Q – Have doubting Unionists been convinced by the General and the independent assessment of the two clergymen.

A – No. The Rev Ian Paisley declared tonight: “You cannot build bridges of trust with a scaffolding of lies and underhand deals. It must been open and above board.”

Q – What are the chances of early political progress in Northern Ireland?

A – Virtually none. It will be several months at least before British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern can begin to even consider launching a new initiative to get the peace process back and track. Unlike the euphoria in the aftermath of the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, guns or no guns, the mood on the streets of Belfast has never been more pessimistic.

Q – Who will make the next judgement call on the IRA.

A – The Independent Monitoring Commission which was set up by the British and Irish governments to monitor the IRA and loyalist ceasefires. Its next report is due out next month but it will be January 2006, six months after the Provisionals declared an end to its campaign, before they can make an accurate determination about their violence and criminality.

Q – Will the loyalists paramilitaries of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association begin decommissioning their weaponry.

A – No. There will be pressure for them to act as part of a confidence building process in advance of getting all sides around the negotiating table. But these are two criminal organisations with zero credibility who need their guns to reinforce the dominance of their own communities, even if it means shooting each other.