The Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, last night initiated another temporary suspension of devolution in Northern Ireland in the hope that "once and for all" the chief outstanding issue of disposing of paramilitary arms can be resolved.
The 24-hour suspension coincided with intense speculation that the IRA may begin to decommission weapons shortly. Senior security sources indicated they expect the IRA to begin decommissioning within weeks but this was played down by Irish and British government officials.
Garda sources indicated the IRA re-engaged secretly with Gen De Chastelain's decommissioning body shortly after the arrests of three Irishmen in Colombia last month.
A Press Association report quoted "authoritative security sources" as saying that the IRA has decided to decommission two of its arms dumps already viewed by the arms inspectors, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Mr Marrti Athisaari.
Dr Reid announced the suspension at a joint news conference in Brussels with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, who was attending last night's emergency EU summit.
"I must emphasise that I would not be taking this step if I did not believe that there was a chance of success. It is not one that I believe I could credibly repeat and I do not intend to do so," he said.
Dr Reid dismissed as mischievous a report that an IRA act of decommissioning was imminent but he expressed confidence that the IRA would deliver on its promise this week to accelerate and intensify its engagement with Gen de Chastelain's decommissioning body.
Mr Cowen said last week's attacks in the United States had focused minds in Ireland on the need for movement on arms decommissioning. "I do believe that last week's events have crystallised the need for a historic move forward on this issue as on others", he said.
Earlier yesterday the Sinn FΘin president, Mr Gerry Adams, warned that "the politics of pressure against the IRA is highly counter-productive".
The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and sources close to Gen de Chastelain's decommissioning body said they were unaware of any imminent IRA gesture. One senior republican source, while saying he was not expecting immediate IRA movement, added that he would not be surprised if the IRA ultimately made a significant gesture on arms. "Whether it happens sooner or later, it is something that will have to be done."
Garda sources, however, who previously had maintained the IRA would not decommission, said last night that events in Colombia, followed by the suicide attacks in New York and Washington, had created major difficulties for both the IRA and its political wing, Sinn FΘin.
Dr Reid said that the decision of the SDLP, the Ulster Unionist Party and the DUP to join the Policing Board, the decision of the IRA to intensify its engagement with the decommissioning body, and the fallout from the attacks in the US persuaded him that one further limited suspension could finally break the logjam.
"My message to the sceptics and to the paramilitaries themselves is that the door is open. There is now an opportunity for those with illegally held arms to take the step which will enable the issue to be resolved once and for all," he added.
Ulster Unionists seem set to force the pace of the latest political crisis. Party sources last night told The Irish Times this could lead to the resignation of the party's three remaining ministers from the power-sharing Executive within two weeks.
