It's Confirmed: IRA Complete Decommissioning
Published: 28 September, 2005
IRA completes decommissioning
The Provisional IRA today confirmed that all its arms have been put beyond use, a statement that was verified by the head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.
The IRA issued a short statement after the press conference that read:
"The leadership of Oglaigh na h-Eireann announced on July 28 that we had authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put arms beyond use.
"The IRA leadership can now confirm that the process of putting our arms verifiably beyond use has been completed."
Speaking at a press conference near
He said the arms had been inventoried and he believed all of the IRA's arsenal had now been decommissioned.
General de Chastelain stated:
"We have now reported to 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. We have also made an inventory of them.
"In September 2004 the commission was provided with estimates of the number and quantity of arms held by the IRA. These estimates were produced by the security forces in both jurisdictions and were in agreement. Our new inventory is consistent with these estimates and we are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal."
The disarmament was verified by former Methodist president the Rev Harold Good and Redemptorist priest Fr Alex Reid, who acted as a go-between in the lead-up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire.
Rev Good told the press conference that witnessing the process on a minute-by-minute basis gave them clear and incontrovertible evidence "that beyond any shadow of doubt the arms of the IRA have now been decommissioned."
He said: "We have spent many long days watching the meticulous and painstaking way in which General de Chastelain went about his task of decommissioning huge amounts of explosives, arms and ammunition."
The Reverend said he was utterly certain about the accuracy of General de Chastelain's report.
Inventories of weapons put beyond use will not be published before the entire decommissioning process, involving all paramilitary groups, has been completed.
Commissioners, Andrew Sens and Brigadier Tauno Nieminen, had been working long hours for several days, from 6am until late at night. They finished their work on Saturday.
Mr Sens supported the general in his insistence on what they had seen, "We are satisfied they have put their weapons beyond use for the reasons the general has described."
Gen. de Chastelain insisted the amount of weapons decommissioned, which included flame throwers and surface to air missiles, were consistent with British and Irish estimates. He did not see any weapons manufactured post-1996, the year the IRA renewed its ceasefire. The general said: “We asked them `Is this everything?’ They said, ‘Yes, this is everything.’”
Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness hailed the significance of IRA decommissioning:
"This is a momentous day for peace. It is, in my view, a tremendous advance, a historic advance, for all the people of
"It is the turning of the final page in the whole controversy over IRA arms.
"It has always been used by unionists as an excuse but now that excuse has effectively been taken away.
"For all of us there is a tremendous, golden opportunity to move forward."
"I hope people will realize the importance of what has happened and recognize that all of this was done by people who were part of a military organization, who accepted Gerry Adams's appeal that the way forward now is by purely political means."
The Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, described the decommissioning of IRA weapons as a "landmark development" in the peace process.
Speaking at a press conference in
Mr Ahern told reporters:
"The gun of the IRA has been taken out of Irish politics".
"The weapons of the IRA are gone. And they are gone in a manner which has been witnessed and verified."
Mr Ahern said the next phase was to try to implement the Good Friday Agreement and set up a working Assembly and North-South bodies.
The following is the text of a speech by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams today in response to today's announcement:
“I consider this afternoon's announcements to be a very full and positive response to the appeal that I made in April.
“At that time I called upon the IRA to pursue their goals by purely peaceful and democratic means.
“This was in keeping with the position outlined by Sinn Féin going back over many years.
“I want to commend the leadership of the IRA for moving so decisively.
“I know that today's announcement will be difficult for many republicans. I saw that myself as we watched the press conference of the IICD and the two independent
witnesses.
“This was a bold and brave leap. But all us need to think beyond it. We need to think beyond the moment. It is not the leap itself but the place that it takes us all that is important. For this reason the IRA's courageous decision was the right thing to do.
“Both governments now need to be focused, decisive and creative. They need to implement the Good Friday Agreement as they have promised to do. There must be progress on equality, policing, human rights, people on the run and victims. There must also be progress on other issues, including prisoners and Northern representation in the Oireachtas.
“There must be a proper peace dividend to tackle inequality, discrimination, deprivation and sectarianism wherever it exists.
“The political institutions must be restored.
“I understand and appreciate that unionists need space to absorb what all this means. I would ask them to reflect upon the potential which is now created, and to see it as an opportunity.
“Some unionists may fear that this is a tactical maneuver, 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.
“Unionists say they do not trust republicans. But they do need to trust themselves.
“The IRA's decision to formally end its armed campaign and today's announcements are genuine initiatives to revive the peace process by conclusively resolving the concerns of unionists.
“Issues relating to the IRA, which were presented as difficulties for unionists, have now been definitively dealt with.
“There are those who will try to dismiss or to minimize what has been announced today. We are prepared to meet those people to discuss their concerns.
“Our leadership will also be seeking meetings with political, church, business and civic interests to build on the progress of today's events and to discuss all these urgent and important issues.
“I would appeal therefore to political leaders to respond carefully. The words of some in the past have fueled sectarian violence against Catholics and this has been a particularly difficult summer. There were serious attempts to provoke a reaction from nationalists and republicans. There may well be other attempts in the time ahead so I call upon people to show the calm and discipline that was evident over the summer months and particularly in recent times.
“This initiative has opened up a new phase in Irish political life. This is not just about the peace process and conflict resolution, though that is vitally important. It is bigger than the question of arms.
“It is about the future of this island, the type of country that we want to live in, the sort of society that we desire for future generations as well as this generation.
“Sinn Féin is proud of our republican values. Our strategy is to bring about Irish unity and independence. And we will campaign and argue for this as we expect unionists to argue for their political vision.
“But in the interest of our shared constituencies we are prepared to work with them in the political institutions to deal with the outstanding issues of the peace process and the social and economic needs that face people at this time. One of the most critical issues facing us at this time is the pressing need to tackle sectarianism.
“The context for this is the Good Friday Agreement.
“We are not naive about the hard work and the difficulties which have yet to be overcome. But a new dynamic has been created. Republicans face into this with confidence. We appeal to unionists and others to join with us. To leave the past behind and to build a shared and peaceful future for all our people.
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