Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement on the Peace Process, 9 January 2003

Full text of Irish Republican Army (IRA) statement on the Peace Process
9 January 2003

"The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann [IRA] extends New Year greetings to our Volunteers, friends and supporters at home and abroad.

We send solidarity greetings to our imprisoned comrades and their families.

As we enter the eighth year of our cessations of military operations we affirm our commitment to the achievement of a united, independent and free Ireland.

We are totally committed to the search for a just and lasting peace.

But the peace process is under threat. This emanates from the British military establishment, its intelligence agencies and from the loyalist murder gangs.

The British government has not kept its commitments. They have acknowledged this. The leadership of unionism has refused to embrace change.

But both have tried to place the responsibility for the present crisis and its resolution on the IRA. They have sought to impose unacceptable and unrealistic ultimatums on the IRA.

Pursuing an agenda dictated by those opposed to change obstructs the creation of the conditions necessary to build a lasting peace.

The IRA leadership has outlined, on a number of occasions, how the full implementation by the two governments of their commitments could provide a political context with the potential to remove the causes of conflict.

That remains our view.

The primary responsibility for restoring confidence in this process lies with the British government. Honouring their obligations is how this can be done."

P O'Neill
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau
Dublin

The statement from the IRA was released through An Phoblacht (Republican News) on 9 January 2003