IRA structure 'key to peace efforts'

The maintenance of the IRA's command and control structure is helping rather than hindering the peace process in the North, the international body set up to monitor paramilitary ceasefires said today.

With the Irish and British governments intent on breaking the political deadlock with days of intensive party talks in Scotland next month, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) gave their efforts a fillip with a report which said republicans remain committed to politics.

In the face of constant unionist calls for the total disbandment of the IRA, the report said the maintenance of the IRA structure was actually an important element in keeping the organisation on the path of peace.

The IMC’s 11th report said it remained of the firm view that the IRA was committed to following a political path.

“It is not engaged in terrorist activity, by which we mean undertaking attacks, planning or reconnoitring them, or developing a terrorist capability by, for example, procuring weapons or training members.

“The leadership is opposed to the use of violence in community control, has taken a stance against criminality and disorder amongst the membership, and has been engaged in successful dialogue to prevent violence during the 2006 parades season,” it said.

Senior members of the IRA were taking on roles in Sinn Féin and encouraging other members to do the same or to engage in community work, it added.

The report added: “The fact that PIRA retains a command and control structure does not in our view detract from this. Indeed, this structure is an important element in maintaining the organisation on its chosen path.”

It said following statements and decommissioning by the IRA, and given the strategy directed by the leadership: "We do not think that PIRA presents a threat to the security forces or impediment to security normalisation."

However, the IMC said dissident republicans did pose a continuing threat to the security forces and constituted “the most significant security threat in Northern Ireland”.

They continued to engage in paramilitary activity and recent events had shown their wish to maintain their capability to do so.

“It remains the case, however, that they have been hampered in what they do both by their limited expertise and capacity and by the continuing efforts of law enforcement agencies North and South,” said the report.

It added that there was a certain level of threat to the lives and safety of members of the security forces.

“This threat could materialise in any part of Northern Ireland but is more likely to do so in certain specific areas,” it added.

Loyalist paramilitary groups, said the IMC, remained involved in violence - but they did not pose an active threat to the security forces.

In contrast to 2005, loyalist leaders contributed to a quiet parades season and some among them appeared committed to ending criminality among their members.

The ending of criminality had been more evident in the case of the Ulster Defence Association than the Ulster Volunteer Force and may reflect a positive strategic decision, said the report.

“The UVF refusal to clarify its position in advance of 24 November 2006 (the government-set deadline for a political breakthrough) remains a worry, not least in view of their refusal to decommission arms or in other ways to reduce their capability to revert to terrorism,” it added.

The report, focusing on the normalisation process, said the British Army and police had met the provisions of the demilitarisation process.

All remaining watchtowers had been demolished in South Armagh, troops had been withdrawn from two more police stations and troop levels reduced.

The report also noted the defortification of existing police buildings, and the style of construction of new buildings in line with Patten Report recommendations.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland was also making progress in introducing new patrolling patterns.

It said as far as the PSNI was concerned, the most striking recent development was the way in which the July 12 parades were policed without the need for military assistance – as has been the case for the earlier Tour of the North Orange parade in north Belfast.

Three other examples of normalisation it highlighted were:

- More than 80% of uniformed officers now patrolling in high-visibility clothing;

- Whereas in spring 2005 some three quarters of districts in the PSNI Rural region regularly used military deployment, this was now very exceptional and the trend was expected to continue downward;

- The PSNI was actively looking at new ways of encouraging interface between officers and the public – for example, basing them in places such as schools and supermarkets.

“These sorts of developments are not simply evidence of normalisation. They also foster greater normalisation by encouraging community contact and greater support for the police.

“We have heard of many instances of greater support, including in those sections of the community which have traditionally been antipathetic to the police,” said the report.

Secretary of State Peter Hain said the report clearly showed the North was changing for the better every day.

“The report recognises both the dramatic changes that have been made to the security apparatus in Northern Ireland, and that these changes are commensurate with the threat and consistent with the Government’s responsibility for public protection,” he said.

Mr Hain said the report also reaffirmed the view that the IRA was committed to following a political path and that the leadership had taken a stand against criminality and engaged in successful dialogue to prevent violence during the marching season.

“Clearly everyone in Northern Ireland is awaiting the IMC’s next report on paramilitary activity but, even without that report, it is clear that a dramatic shift has occurred in the threat posed by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland,” he said.

That, in parallel with the recently peaceful parading season, offered up the genuine possibility of a Northern Ireland in which community policing without routine Army support, jury trial and defortified police stations were the norm, said Mr Hain.

“This is a great prize for the people of Northern Ireland, and the government will continue to meet its commitments to normalise security arrangements as long as the appropriate enabling environment exists,” he added.