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theoak01
New member
for those who know,read and comment Im interested in other views on this and certainly up for some discussion. either way im sure everyone is glad peace is upon such a lovely place,at a time when it only looked to be getting worse.
article below
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The war is over
General John de Chastelain accepts that the complete IRA arsenal has now been decommissioned but Ian Paisley says the public is being conned, claiming there has been a cunning cover-up.
Tuesday September 27th 2005
But doubting Paisley puts peace process on hold
THE IRA's final act of decommissioning has yielded a "massive" arsenal.
It was handed over and independently verified in a painstaking dawn-to-dusk operation which took most of last week to complete.
But it has not been enough to convince the DUP that it should enter into early talks with Sinn Fein for the restoration of devolved government in the North.
Among the haul handed over were flame throwers, surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles, machine guns, mortars, handguns, home-made and commercial explosives - all tagged by the IRA.
The head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), General John de Chastelain, said: "We are satisfied the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal."
But Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley accused the British and Irish governments of "duplicity and dishonesty" and claimed the Decommissioning Body had been duped by the IRA.
He challenged the Canadian General to produce the proof that all the weapons have been dumped.
The DUP leader claimed: "Instead of openness, there was the cunning tactics of cover-up and a complete failure by General de Chastelain to deal with the vital numerics of decommissioning."
He said that to describe the process as transparent was "the falsehood of the century" and added : "Ulster is not for sale and will not be for sale."
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described the IRA move as "a bold and brave leap" by the Provisionals. But Mr Adams said he understood and appreciated that unionists needed time and space to absorb all of what had happened and what it meant. He urged them to reflect on the potential that now existed and to see it as an opportunity. "Some unionists may fear that this is a tactical manoeuvre or an attempt to trap them. It is not. Some unionists have expressed fears about a plan B. There is no plan B. There is no secret agenda," Mr Adams said.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described yesterday as "a momentous day" and said the developments were "of enormous consequence", adding: "There is no going back to the bad old days."
In a joint statement with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr Ahern said what had happened was "the clearest signal yet that the IRA's armed campaign is over" and called for "the earliest practicable" restoration of the institutions in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.
The White House described the move as "a critical first step towards a lasting peace".
It emerged that General de Chastelain and his assistants, Tauno Nieminen and Andrew Sens, had worked from 6am to midnight on several days last week to verify the process.
They disclosed to a dramatic Belfast news conference that they had examined every single weapon handed up by the IRA. Gen de Chastelain said: "We have now reported to the British and Irish governments that 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."
Two churchmen who witnessed the arms disposal, former Methodist president Rev Harold Good and Redemptorist priest Fr Alex Reid, said they were "absolutely certain beyond any shadow of doubt" that all the IRA arsenal was gone.
Fr Reid said he was prepared to stake his life that the IRA was serious about what it had done and that it had held no arms back.
Rev Good, saying he believed the evidence of his own eyes which he had used as "the lens of the community", pleaded with people: "Do trust us."
He said "massive amounts" of weaponry were destroyed and added: "It is our hope that this development will become a benchmark for the peaceful resolution of political conflicts everywhere and that for the people of Northern Ireland it will herald the dawn of a new era of peace."
Gene McKenna, Tom Brady and Dominic Cunningham
© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/
article below
>>>>>>>>>>
The war is over
General John de Chastelain accepts that the complete IRA arsenal has now been decommissioned but Ian Paisley says the public is being conned, claiming there has been a cunning cover-up.
Tuesday September 27th 2005
But doubting Paisley puts peace process on hold
THE IRA's final act of decommissioning has yielded a "massive" arsenal.
It was handed over and independently verified in a painstaking dawn-to-dusk operation which took most of last week to complete.
But it has not been enough to convince the DUP that it should enter into early talks with Sinn Fein for the restoration of devolved government in the North.
Among the haul handed over were flame throwers, surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles, machine guns, mortars, handguns, home-made and commercial explosives - all tagged by the IRA.
The head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), General John de Chastelain, said: "We are satisfied the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal."
But Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley accused the British and Irish governments of "duplicity and dishonesty" and claimed the Decommissioning Body had been duped by the IRA.
He challenged the Canadian General to produce the proof that all the weapons have been dumped.
The DUP leader claimed: "Instead of openness, there was the cunning tactics of cover-up and a complete failure by General de Chastelain to deal with the vital numerics of decommissioning."
He said that to describe the process as transparent was "the falsehood of the century" and added : "Ulster is not for sale and will not be for sale."
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described the IRA move as "a bold and brave leap" by the Provisionals. But Mr Adams said he understood and appreciated that unionists needed time and space to absorb all of what had happened and what it meant. He urged them to reflect on the potential that now existed and to see it as an opportunity. "Some unionists may fear that this is a tactical manoeuvre or an attempt to trap them. It is not. Some unionists have expressed fears about a plan B. There is no plan B. There is no secret agenda," Mr Adams said.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described yesterday as "a momentous day" and said the developments were "of enormous consequence", adding: "There is no going back to the bad old days."
In a joint statement with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr Ahern said what had happened was "the clearest signal yet that the IRA's armed campaign is over" and called for "the earliest practicable" restoration of the institutions in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.
The White House described the move as "a critical first step towards a lasting peace".
It emerged that General de Chastelain and his assistants, Tauno Nieminen and Andrew Sens, had worked from 6am to midnight on several days last week to verify the process.
They disclosed to a dramatic Belfast news conference that they had examined every single weapon handed up by the IRA. Gen de Chastelain said: "We have now reported to the British and Irish governments that 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."
Two churchmen who witnessed the arms disposal, former Methodist president Rev Harold Good and Redemptorist priest Fr Alex Reid, said they were "absolutely certain beyond any shadow of doubt" that all the IRA arsenal was gone.
Fr Reid said he was prepared to stake his life that the IRA was serious about what it had done and that it had held no arms back.
Rev Good, saying he believed the evidence of his own eyes which he had used as "the lens of the community", pleaded with people: "Do trust us."
He said "massive amounts" of weaponry were destroyed and added: "It is our hope that this development will become a benchmark for the peaceful resolution of political conflicts everywhere and that for the people of Northern Ireland it will herald the dawn of a new era of peace."
Gene McKenna, Tom Brady and Dominic Cunningham
© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/
