http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/nort ... 720863.stm

KEY POINTS OF STATEMENT
All IRA units ordered to dump arms
Members ordered to pursue objectives through "exclusively peaceful means"
Arms to be put beyond use as quickly as possible
Two church witnesses to verify this
Statement followed "honest and forthright" consultation process
Strong support among IRA members for Sinn Fein's peace strategy
There is now an alternative way to achieve goal of united Ireland
"Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever"

IRA says armed campaign is over
The IRA has formally ordered an end to its armed campaign and says it will pursue exclusively peaceful means.

In a long-awaited statement, the republican organisation said it would follow a democratic path ending more than 30 years of violence.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the move was a "courageous and confident initiative" and that the moment must be seized.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was a "step of unparalleled magnitude".

"It is what we have striven for and worked for throughout the eight years since the Good Friday Agreement," he said.

The IRA made its decision after an internal debate prompted by Mr Adams' call in April to pursue its goals exclusively through politics.

Mr Adams said Thursday's statement was a "defining point in the search for a lasting peace with justice" and also presented challenges for others.

"It means that unionists who are for the Good Friday Agreement must end their ambivalence," he said.

"And it is a direct challenge to the DUP to decide if they want to put the past behind them, and make peace with the rest of the people of this island."

In a joint communique the British and Irish governments welcomed the statement and said if the IRA's words "are borne out by actions, it will be a momentous and historic development".

"Verified acts of completion will provide a context in which we will expect all parties to work towards the full operation of the political institutions, including the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, and the North-South structures, at the earliest practicable date," it said.



The Independent Monitoring Commission, which examines paramilitary activity, has also been asked to produce an additional report in January 2006, three months after their next regular report.

During the Northern Ireland Troubles, the IRA murdered about 1,800 civilians and members of the security forces.

The IRA statement issued on Thursday said the end of the armed campaign would take effect from 1600 BST.

"All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.

"The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible."

The statement said independent witnesses from Catholic and Protestant churches had been invited to see the decommissioning process.
It is understood there has already been a meeting between the head of the decommisioning body, General John de Chastelain, and the IRA.

DUP leader Ian Paisley greeted the statement with scepticism, saying that the IRA had "reverted to type" after previous "historic" statements.

"We will judge the IRA's bona fides over the next months and years based on its behaviour and activity," he said.

He said they had also "failed to provide the transparency necessary to truly build confidence that the guns have gone in their entirety".

Ulster Unionist Party Sir Reg Empey, told the BBC's World at One it would take time to convince the people of Northern Ireland that this was more than just rhetoric.

He said: "People are so sceptical, having been burnt so many times before.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan welcomed the statement, saying it was "clear, clean and complete", but "long overdue".

He called on Sinn Fein to commit to the new policing structures in Northern Ireland, as his party had done.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he welcomes the IRA's statement that it was ending its "armed campaign".

Mr Ahern said the end of the IRA as a paramilitary group "is the outcome the governments have been working towards" since the 1994 ceasefire.

The IRA pledge was welcomed by the United States administration as "an important and potentially historic statement".

A White House statement said the words must now be followed by actions and acknowledged there would be scepticism, particularly among victims and their families.

"They will want to be certain that this terrorism and criminality are indeed things of the past," the statement said.

The statement added that it understood from the IRA communique that "the IRA and its members will no longer have any contact with any foreign paramilitary and terrorist organisations".

When he made his appeal in April, Mr Adams said it was "a genuine attempt to drive the peace process forward".

Republicans had been under intense pressure to end IRA activity after the £26.5m Northern Bank raid in December and the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney in January.

Political talks last year failed to restore devolution, which stalled amid claims of IRA intelligence gathering at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, in 2002.

The Provisional IRA's campaign of violence was aimed at forcing an end to the British presence in Northern Ireland, leading to a united Ireland.

Here's the statement issued by the IRA:

"The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign.
This will take effect from 4pm [1600 BST] this afternoon.

All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms.

All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means.

Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.

The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD [Independent International Commission on Decommissioning] to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible.
We have invited two independent witnesses, from the Protestant and Catholic churches, to testify to this.

The Army Council took these decisions following an unprecedented internal discussion and consultation process with IRA units and Volunteers.

We appreciate the honest and forthright way in which the consultation process was carried out and the depth and content of the submissions.

We are proud of the comradely way in which this truly historic discussion was conducted. The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA Volunteers for the Sinn Fein peace strategy.

There is also widespread concern about the failure of the two governments and the unionists to fully engage in the peace process.
This has created real difficulties. The overwhelming majority of people in Ireland fully support this process.

They and friends of Irish unity throughout the world want to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Notwithstanding these difficulties our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland.

We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage.

We are very mindful of the sacrifices of our patriot dead, those who went to jail, Volunteers, their families and the wider republican base.
We reiterate our view that the armed struggle was entirely legitimate. We are conscious that many people suffered in the conflict.

There is a compelling imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace. The issue of the defence of nationalist and republican communities has been raised with us.

There is a responsibility on society to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s.

There is also a universal responsibility to tackle sectarianism in all its forms.

The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation.

We call for maximum unity and effort by Irish republicans everywhere. We are confident that by working together Irish republicans can achieve our objectives.

Every Volunteer is aware of the import of the decisions we have taken and all Oglaigh are compelled to fully comply with these orders.

There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process.

This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for the people of Ireland."

Aye. That's great news there laddies.

Cheers to that.

Sorry to sound pessimistic but until I see the loyalists do the same, I don't hold much stead in it.

Hopefully this is a step in the right direction

I feel kinda dumb asking, but i've never fully understood the conflict. It's has always been my understanding that it was Northern Ireland against Southern Ireland (Catholics vs. Protestants) but i've never had a full comprehension of what is going on. It's just one of those conflicts that i have been hearing about all my life, but never had it properly explained to me.
My girlfriend's dad grew up in Belfast and talks about the IRA once and a while (in fact he was asked to join many years ago) so it's been kinda interesting to me lately.

So anyways if anyone could break it down into it's simplest terms for me that would be a big help.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/nort ... 283444.stm

IRA 'has destroyed all its arms'
The IRA has put all of its weapons beyond use, the head of the arms decommissioning body has said.

General John de Chastelain made the announcement at a news conference accompanied by the two churchmen who witnessed the process.

"We are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal."

Welcoming the move, Prime Minister Tony Blair said IRA decommissioning had been "finally accomplished".

The general said: "We have observed and verified events to put beyond use very large quantities of arms which we believe include all the arms in the IRA's possession.

He said they had handled every gun and made an inventory of the weapons.

The arms included a full range of ammunition, rifles, machine guns, mortars, missiles, handguns, explosives, explosive substances and other arms including all the categories described in the estimates provided by the UK and Irish security services, he said.

"Our new inventory is consistent with these estimates. We are satisfied that the arms decommissioning represents the totality of the IRA's arsenal."

The IRA announced an end to its armed campaign in July.

The republican organisation said it would follow a democratic path ending more than 30 years of violence.

General de Chastelain's report confirming that IRA decommissioning had been completed was given to the British and Irish governments earlier on Monday.

He described IRA decommissioning as "an important milestone towards the completion of its task to achieve decommissioning by all paramilitary groups".

The churchmen who witnessed the process were Catholic priest Father Alec Reid and ex-Methodist president Rev Harold Good.

Their statement said: "The experience of seeing this with our own eyes, on a minute-to-minute basis, provided us with evidence so clear and of its nature so incontrovertible that at the end of the process it demonstrated to us - and would have demonstrated to anyone who might have been with us - that beyond any shadow of doubt, the arms of the IRA have now been decommissioned."

The churchmen said they regarded IRA decommissioning as an "accomplished act".

General de Chastelain, Andrew Sens and Tauno Nieminen - the commissioners of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning - have been in Ireland overseeing the latest round of decommissioning since the beginning of September.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the completion of decommissioning was "an important step in the transition from conflict to peace in Northern Ireland".

"The true importance of today is that these weapons can never again be used to inflict suffering and create more victims," he added.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said that it was a "landmark development" and appealed to unionists not to "underestimate the importance" of the move.

"The weapons of the IRA are gone, and are gone in a manner which has been verified and witnessed," he said.

Secretary of State Peter Hain said the announcement was the first step on the road to devolution being restored in Northern Ireland.

"After all the bitter agony of the victims who have suffered, deaths and families torn apart, people will want to be certain, not just for a few weeks but for some months that actually this is being delivered," he said.

"So far so good, today's statement was a landmark one which deals with the IRA's arsenal in a very credible way witnessed by independent people - but we have a long time to go to see whether we can actually get self government back on the road."

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams admitted the announcement would be "difficult for many republicans" but it was a "very brave and bold leap".

Mr Adams said the British and Irish governments must now implement the Good Friday Agreement, with progress needed on outstanding issues including equality, policing, human rights, victims and on-the-run prisoners.

However, unionists are unhappy there has been no photographic evidence of decommissioning and reacted with scepticism to the report.

Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley said there had been no transparent verification of IRA decommissioning in the announcement.

He said the church witnesses had been agreed by the IRA and as such could not be considered "independent".

Without a photographic proof, an inventory and details on how the weapons were destroyed questions remained, said Mr Paisley.

"This afternoon the people of Northern Ireland watched a programme which illustrates more than ever the duplicity and dishonesty of the two governments and the IRA."

However, his deputy, east Belfast MP Peter Robinson said they accepted a significant amount of IRA weapons had been "put beyond use".

Mr Robinson said they accepted it had been "a more substantial event than the previous events put together".

In a statement the Ulster Unionist Party said it regretted that the move had "failed to maximise public confidence".

"It is imperative that the movement's criminal empire be dismantled as well," it said.

IRA WEAPONRY
1,000 rifles
2 tonnes of Semtex
20-30 heavy machine guns
7 Surface-to-air missiles (unused)
7 flame throwers
1,200 detonators
11 rocket-propelled grenade launchers
90 hand guns
100+ grenades
Source: Security estimates/Jane's Intelligence Review

It is one of the most stupid stubborn conflicts in recent times.

Rooted in bigotry, intolerance and power.

Check this out for a history lesson on the IRA

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static ... ional_ira/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4286266.stm

Weapons witnesses 'IRA-nominated'

The DUP was "shocked" by what it learned in a meeting with decommissioning chief John de Chastelain, Ian Paisley has said.

He said the two church witnesses to disarmament were "IRA nominated" and the party now wants to meet them.

Catholic priest Father Alec Reid and ex-Methodist president Rev Harold Good were not appointed by the government or arms body, said Mr Paisley.

The party said the list of IRA weapons had been "revised and tampered with".

"These are the things that put a very big question over what has taken place," said Mr Paisley.

The DUP is now seeking a meeting with the British government.

It has questioned if the inventory list given by the intelligence services was accurate or "just cobbled together" for political expediency.

Mr Paisley claimed there had been a cover-up.

"We discovered that the witnesses turned up in the presence of the IRA. None of the commission heard from the government who the witnesses were," he said.

"Nor did the government certify them - they were not appointed by the government.

"It was suggested that the commission appointed them. The commission said no... they came and introduced themselves in the presence of the IRA and they said 'we are the appointed witnesses'."

Mr Paisley said he was told some of the IRA's weapons had already gone to dissident republican groups.

A DUP delegation is currently meeting the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) in Belfast.

Speaking after his party's meeting with the arms body, SDLP chairman Alex Attwood said they felt "more reassured" that what was said in relation to IRA weapons had happened.

"Everybody needs to recognise that these men are nobody's fools," Mr Attwood said.

"Anybody who thinks they can make a fool of what those three men are trying to do and what the witnesses saw happen is very badly misled and misguided."

Mr Attwood said that the issue of loyalist weapons was also raised and the party had encouraged the commission to keep working to bring about a situation where loyalist paramilitaries might act.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the completion of IRA decommissioning was the result of "a lot of hard work", which was worthwhile if it brought lasting peace.

In his keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Brighton, he said: "There's a lesson for Northern Ireland - nothing good comes easy."

Earlier on Tuesday, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said unionist distrust was "natural", but the IRA's "historic move" brought the return of devolution closer.

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness is going to the US to brief Irish Americans.

The SDLP, the Ulster Unionists and the Alliance Party have also been holding separate meetings with the general and his fellow commissioners on Tuesday.

'Sceptical and suspicious'

Mr Hain said he could understand Mr Paisley's scepticism, but asked him to respect the integrity of General de Chastelain.

"I wouldn't have expected Ian or the unionists to just bowl over and welcome everything with open arms because they've got a lot of cause to be sceptical and suspicious over the behaviour of the IRA in the past," he told BBC News on Tuesday.

"The IRA have often promised to do things and then reneged on them."

The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reports next month and in January would consider whether the IRA was delivering on its promise to cease paramilitary and criminal activity, Mr Hain said earlier.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams told BBC News on Tuesday: "There can be genuine concerns about all of this and people need some time to absorb it.

"But at the end of the day, are they (sceptical unionists) saying that de Chastelain and the other commissioners are liars? Are they saying that Harold Good is a liar, that Fr Alec Reid is a liar?

"Whatever about their views of Sinn Fein - or indeed Mr Blair or the taoiseach (Bertie Ahern) - is that what it amounts to?"

The White House has welcomed the IRA's move as an "important first step" and the US State Department called on all paramilitary groups, whether loyalist or republican, to work with General de Chastelain to bring about complete disarmament.

Making his report on Monday, General De Chastelain said he had handled every gun and made an inventory of the ordnance, which was in line with estimates provided by the UK and Irish security services.

---------------------

Not sure how many reply's this'll get... No US connection and all that...

BUT

Ian Paisley, needs to grow up. Of course the inspectors are going to be IRA nominated, they are obviously only going to let people in that they trust. Don't forget that this is still an illegal organisation, and old habits die hard. Besides, this is what I can't work out and maybe somebody can enlighten me:

What possible reason or advantage would the IRA have to lie about the decommisioning process?? If they are caught out or carry out another attack then they will lose all credibility & bargaining power forever. So why would they lie??

Since David Trimble's departure from the scene, there is now no middleground between the Loyalists & the Republicans. It is now up to Paisley to bite the bullet and accept this gesture and restart the peace process. Paisley is now too old and set in his ways to accept anything less than total surrender from the IRA, this will not happen. As with most situations in life some kind of comprimise should be reached. But this is gonna be tricky while Paisley is on the scene.

Because let's not fuck about, the IRA could buy more arms tomorrow if they wanted. Don't forget that they have £££ from the Northern Bank robbery and the Republican movement still garners a lot of support from the US. So the decommisioning is just a gesture of goodwill to restart the peace process.

*waits for Bono to rear his google-eyed head*

you can kill the revolutionary
but you cant kill the revolution

So no sensible debate then?? Wow.

Noone seems to care at all.

If something had gone boom recently, then maybe we'd be interested, but it kind of lost our attention. It was too damn sporadic and small scale. Anyhoo, civil unrest is so third world these days.

It will never be over, all of this killing in Ireland, as long there is a religious gap, there will be warfare and innocent people will die. The saddest state of human kind is the death of individuals over a philosophy or religion that can not be proven right or wrong, if god did exist the first thing he would do would be the ending of all the this strife caused by the misinterpretation of his word...James Joyce was right, far too much shit is going on to truly accept the catholic school of thought.

Well you are American, so no-one expects you to have a comment on the world outside North America. Also then by your reckoning the US is obviously still a third world country then :

http://www.katrina-hurricane.biz/katrina-civil-unrest.htm

That is a great point of view, but actually it's pathetic, and I really want to go off on this obtuse point of view but it is late, this is a sad, sad world.

Obviously you misunderstand the conflict. It's constitutional, not religious.

The IRA is throwing in the towel already???



Pussies.