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July 29, 2005


Reaction to IRA statement


GOVERNMENTS

 British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the IRA's decision as "a step of unprecedented magnitude in the recent history of Northern Ireland".

 Mr Blair said today could be the day in which "finally after all the false dawns and dashed hopes, peace replaced war, politics replaces terror on the island of Ireland".

 He said: "I welcome the statement of the IRA that ends its campaign. I welcome its clarity.

 I welcome the recognition that the only route to political change lies exclusively in peaceful and democratic means. This is a step of unparalleled magnitude in the recent history of Northern Ireland.

 "The Unionist community in particular and all of us throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom will want to see this clear statement of principle kept to in practice.

 "The instruction of the IRA statement that Volunteers must not engage in any other activity whatsoever will be taken as a forthright denunciation of any activity, paramilitary or criminal."

 Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Bertie Ahern hailed the statement as historic and said "the war is over".

 He said it satisfied the demands of the British and Irish Governments.

 "As a statement goes, this delivers what I'd been seeking," he said.

 "I had set down in the public domain since the meeting I had with Sinn Fein in January what I wanted.

 "I wanted to see decommissioning be dealt with, I wanted to see the IRA as a paramilitary organisation ceasing and I wanted to see that the issues as set out in the [two Government's] Joint Declaration were covered, this statement covers those points, there's no doubt about that.

 "The war is over, the IRA's armed campaign is over, paramilitarism is over and I believe that we can look to the future of peace and prosperity based on mutual trust and reconciliation and a final end to violence.

 "And that's what people like myself and others have been working for for a long time."

 Mr Ahern said that if the IRA words "are borne out by the verified action" it would be "a momentous and a very historic development."

 "Our focus now, as is always as the two Governments, is on the complete implementation of the Good Friday Agreement that people voted for back in May of 1998 and that has brought such immense benefits to the country."

 UNIONISTS

 Democratic Unionist Party MP Jeffrey Donaldson said any possibility of the future resumption of power-sharing would depend on how long it takes the IRA to complete the promised decommissioning of all its weapons and how it is verified.

 The Lagan Valley MP said: "That will be determined by how long it takes the IRA to complete the decommissioning process. We've no indication in this statement of when that will be done, they simply say it will be done as soon as possible."

 "We need to see that what happens is properly verified and when the IRA talk about enhancing public confidence, how do they intend to do that?"

 Mr Donaldson said more clarification of the statement was needed.

 Reg Empey, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, said his party would be reserving judgment until the IRA's words were translated into actions.

 "I can't take any statement from the Republican movement at face value because we have had that many of them in the past," he said.

 "After having had so many false starts in the past, naturally people are going to say actions speak louder than words.

 "So let us see how this plays out. Let us see what happens to the weapons, let us see what happens on the ground."

 NATIONALISTS

 Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds said the move was a sensible step into democracy.

 He said he had been confident the IRA would make the declaration ever since the first ceasefire was called in August 1994.

 "I knew and believed and said it so many times since that we had changed direction in relation to the republican movement and that in time it would be seen as such. This is an historical day," Mr Reynolds said.

 Former SDLP leader and Nobel peace prize winner John Hume said today's IRA statement was "a very important step" and it is now up to the British and Irish governments and the Norths political parties to implement the Good Friday Agreement.

 He said all true democrats now had to respond to the will of the people.

 "I think it is a very important step, given the opposition that was coming from the DUP in particular," he said.

 "Now that the road is totally clear, I would be reasonably confident that we would make further progress."

 There was no immediate response from the hardline Republican Sinn Fein or the breakaway 32 County Sovereignty Committee.


 USA

 President George Bush’s special envoy on the North, Mitchell Reiss, described the statement as “very positive and very encouraging”.

 He said whether it was truly historic would be determined in the coming weeks and months.

 “We will soon see whether these words will be turned into deeds,” he said. “Everybody would like to move as quickly as possible but let’s move ahead clearly and do it in a way which gives reassurance.”

 Mr Reiss was briefed on developments in Washington this morning by Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness and said he had been encouraged by what he was told.

 Republican congressman Peter King branded the breakthrough “a truly defining moment in Irish history”.

 He said it was the “most dramatic step forward in advancing the peace process”.

 King, a leading Sinn Féin supporter, said he had been told two large IRA arms caches would be destroyed later in the day, but he said he did not know where.

 “I can understand the Unionists having some scepticism, which is why I think it will take several months to go back into government, but there’s no reason negotiations can’t start immediately,” he said.


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