NI elections to go ahead, despite setback
Prime Minister Tony Blair is convinced the IRA have agreed to end paramilitary violence for good, in line with the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement.
The IRA yesterday announced it had completed its third act of weapons decommissioning.
With this in mind, the PM told reporters “We are absolutely confident that the IRA have made a clear commitment to the cessation of all paramilitary activity and that the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is what brings this conflict to a close.
“Yes, the election’s going ahead but it depends what atmosphere it goes ahead in.”
But Mr Blair’s statement came after the Ulster Unionists said the IRA’s third act of decommissioning did not go far enough.
Earlier, Downing Street announced that elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly would take place on November 26th.
But the UUP said they were putting this date “on hold.”
David Trimble, UUP leader, told a news conference: “What we needed in this situation was a clear, transparent report on major acts of decommissioning, the nature of which would have a significant impact upon public opinion and demonstrate that we were in a different context.
“Unfortunately we have not had that. We are in effect now putting the sequence on hold.”
But late last night, Mr Blair told reporters: “We are not going to reach agreement tonight.
“It is better that we make sure that the right discussions take place between the parties and we try and get it resolved over the next couple of days.”
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, at a hotel in Belfast yesterday morning, said the political wing of the IRA was “totally committed” to peace, and embraced “an entirely new democratic future” for Northern Ireland.”
Mr Adams said: “It is always easier to begin a journey, the hard thing is to finish it.”
Mr Adams pledged to bring Irish violence to an end and spoke of a desire to see “all guns taken out of Irish society”, appealing to all organisations to declare a ceasefire.
