Sinn Fein Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

IAUC response to the IRA statement

Washington, DC - In a statement issued July 28, 2005, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) pledged to dump all its weapons and to exclusively use political means to achieve its goals of a united Ireland. The Irish Americans Unity Conference (IAUC) implores the Bush Administration and Congress to respond to this historic breakthrough that signals the end of thirty-five years of conflict in Northern Ireland.

The IRA statement said in part: "All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.

"The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible.

"We have invited two independent witnesses, from the Protestant and Catholic churches, to testify to this."

In a statement responding to this development, Retired Judge Andrew Somers, president of the IAUC, said:

"We encourage the U.S. government to resume a leadership role in the peace process. Based on the IRA's long-term cease-fire and its recent statement, we believe that the US should encourage Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party to work within the context of the Northern Irish Assembly.

"If the DUP is not willing to sit in government with all the duly elected parties, then the U.S. government must encourage the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference to take over the temporary administration of Northern Ireland. That joint authority should, in our opinion, continue until the elected representatives agree to work within the framework of the Northern Irish Assembly that was democratically approved in 1998 in the Good Friday Agreement.

"Based on the IRA's substantial and significant commitments, the Good Friday Agreement should be fully implemented by the British and Irish governments with no more excuses. The sections needing urgent attention include the following:

  • putting into service all the cross border administrative provisions,
  • demilitarizing the border counties, and
  • completing the policing reforms included in the Patten Commission's Report."