The Hindu : No deal with IRA, says Reid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 11, 2002

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International

No deal with IRA, says Reid

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON APRIL 10. The Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, has denied that the IRA's second phase of decommissioning announced on Monday was part of a secret deal with the British Government over amnesty for a number of high-profile Republican fugitives.

Mr. Reid's denial came amid a row over IRA's "real" motive for decommissioning with hard-line Unionists alleging that it was linked to the republican group's demand for a blanket amnesty for as many as 40 of its activists, now on the run. They include those who either escaped from prison or jumped bail and are now living abroad. It is believed that during the peace talks at Weston Park last summer Sinn Fein leaders were given an assurance on this issue, but Unionists opposed the move.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) chief and head of the Northern Ireland executive, David Trimble, indicated recently that his party would agree to a return of the fugitives provided they faced some sort of a judicial process, but it remained opposed to an unconditional amnesty because these people had been involved in serious crimes, including killings. While Mr. Trimble has avoided comment in the wake of decommissioning, party hardliners have described it as a "bargain" and accused the British Government of doing a "deal" with republicans.

The Democratic Unionist Party, which is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement itself, said the IRA's latest move was intended to "squeeze further concessions from the Government". Observers said Dr. Reid's denial notwithstanding, a reciprocal gesture from the Government side was not ruled out and reports quoted government sources as saying that "progress on decommissioning would make it easier to address the fugitive issue."

In the past two days, there has been a concerted attempt by hawkish Unionists to play down the significance of the second phase of decommissioning which the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, hailed as a "huge" contribution to the peace process.

They have said that its timing is meant to deflect attention from allegations that IRA men were involved in a sensational theft of confidential documents from a Belfast police station recently, and calls from a U.S. Congressional committee for Mr. Adams to attend its hearings on IRA's links with Colombian extremists.

He has been asked to explain the presence of three IRA activists in a Colombian rebels' stronghold last year, but Mr. Adams is reported to have declined the "invitation" citing preoccupation at home.

"This further IRA gesture has more to do with Irish general election (next month) and deflecting attention away from the break-in at Castlereagh police station than it has to do with a commitment to peace and democracy," a hard-line Ulster Unionist MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, said. More detached observers, however, pointed out that whatever the IRA's motive, it did not take away from the fact that it had started to destroy its weapons and shown its commitment to the peace process. It was now for other paramilitary outfits to follow suit.

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