Confidence 'IRA arms have gone'

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

Source

There is growing confidence the IRA has decommissioned, one of the witnesses to the republican paramilitary group putting its "arms beyond use" has said.

In September 2005 the weapons monitoring body said the IRA had decommissioned all its weapons.

Former Methodist president Rev Harold Good, one of two church witnesses, said no IRA bullets had been fired since.

"There is growing confidence in what we declared to be a fact, even by those who expressed misgivings," he said.

He and Catholic priest Fr Alec Reid verified the statement on IRA decommissioning given by General John de Chastelain, head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.

Gone are the days when the likes of Paisley can credibly use paramilitary activities as an excuse to not move forward on the issue of the six counties.

The disappointing thing if agreement is not reached between the parties by 24 November, is that parties like Sinn Féin who have been willing to talk for over a decade will lose their ability to act on behalf of their constituents.

But at least it will remove Paisley from the equation as the non-extremist elements of the British and Irish governments work together to implement the Good Friday agreement.

[lookwhaticando]

The notion that the IRA still runs a sizable ogranized crime circuit makes things a little less black and white as they ought to be.

It's all a bit of a grey area really... the IRA should give up it's dodgy business too.

Afterall, you must be a mature, ever-present force in politics before you can get away with such criminality as selling peerages etc... which isn't too too far removed from the likes of robbing banks etc.

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

The notion that the IRA still runs a sizable ogranized crime circuit makes things a little less black and white as they ought to be.

It's all a bit of a grey area really... the IRA should give up it's dodgy business too.

Afterall, you must be a mature, ever-present force in politics before you can get away with such criminality as selling peerages etc... which isn't too too far removed from the likes of robbing banks etc.

Indeed they should. Criminality is something that the DUP has been hammering the IRA about for years, but I think organised crime has become less relevant for the IRA as an organisation. The IMC recently reported that the IRA has taken a stance against criminality, dissident individuals aside. Here

The UVF is probably the biggest player on the scene lately. I can understand unionist hesitation to sit with republicans but Paisley's constant ranting about things untrue and no longer relevant purely for political purposes is trying!

I think Sinn Féin has been shaping into that mature presence in politics for many years, and the IRA seem to trust them with Ireland's united future enough to disarm.