IRA Statement

by Freedom Fighter Thu Oct 31, 2002 22:51 Saor Eire

STATEMENT FROM THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY

The following is an IRA leadership statement in the wake of the
recent speech by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the suspension
of the political institutions by the British government.

Recent events show that the leadership of unionism have set their
faces against political change at this time. There is also a real
threat to the peace process from the British
establishment and its agencies as well as the loyalist murder gangs.

For our part, the IRA remains committed to the search for a just and
lasting peace. The complete cessation of military operations
announced in July 1997 remains intact. In the past the IRA leadership
has acted unilaterally to save and enhance the peace process. We have
also outlined how, in our view, the full implementation by the two
governments of their
commitments could provide a political context with the potential to
remove the causes of conflict.

Despite this, the British Government says that the responsibility for
this present crisis and its resolution lies with us and there is an
effort to impose unacceptable and untenable ultimatums on the IRA. At
the same time the British Government, by its own admission, has not
kept its commitments.

The IRA, therefore, has suspended contact with the IICD
[Independent International Commission on Decommissioning].

The onus is on the British Government and others to create confidence
in this process. They can do this by honoring their obligations.

P O'Neill,
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau,
Dublin.