Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement, 29 October 2003

Text of Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement, 29 October 2003

"After protracted and detailed discussions, the leadership of the IRA recently made decisions to take initiatives with the objective of facilitating political progress.

These decisions were made after the UUP and the two govemments had agreed to make their contributions as part of an agreed sequence. We had sight of their stated positions and they had sight of ours.

Our initiatives, In line with our stated position, related to our commitment to resolve the issue of arms and our view of remarks made by Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams. It was part of an agreement and an agreed sequence which involved:

• The announcement of an election:
• A statement by Gerry Adams:
• A statement from the IRA leadership;
• An act of putting arms beyond use;
• A report by the lICD [Independent International Commission on Decommissioning];
• A statement by David Trimble;
• A joint statement by the two governments.

As part of this we:

• Met with the IICD with a view to implementing a process to put arms beyond use at the earliest opportunity.
• We, in line with that, carried out a further act of putting arms beyond use under the agreed scheme. This involved the largest amount of arms to date.

The political process these initiatives were designed to facilitate has been hatted without a credible explanation from those who stopped it.

The leadership of the IRA honoured our commitments. Others have not fulfilled theirs. This is totally unacceptable.

When we give our word we keep it. We expect others to do the same. Until they do so there can be little prospect of progress on the issues they profess concern about."

P O'Neill,
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.