SF would welcome another IRA move on arms

Sinn Féin would welcome a second act of IRA decommissioning, its chairman has said.

Sinn Féin would welcome a second act of IRA decommissioning, its chairman has said.

Mr Mitchel McLaughlin said his party would welcome any such act, but would not be drawn on speculation that another act of decommissioning was imminent.

Speaking on the BBC, Mr McLaughlin said another act "would fit into Sinn Féin's aspirations.

"We want to see all of the guns taken out of Irish politics and that includes IRA guns.

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"What we have seen is the IRA acting, as they did last October, in a way that actually salvaged the peace process. I think they have demonstrated that they will act to enhance the peace process," he said.

Meanwhile, the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, warned that the peace process was not irreversible.

Dr Reid said further decommissioning would help to cement the progress that had been made in the four years since the signing of Belfast Agreement.

"There has been an historic event of decommissioning by the IRA and of course if the process is going to work that itself has to be turned into a process which means there has to be another event," he said.

Dr Reid pointed to violence in Israel, saying it was a "tragic irony" that what was happening in the Middle East should dominate the news on the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.

"Remember, Northern Ireland used to be like that, thousands dead during the Troubles and normal life impossible to carry out," he said. "But over the past four years, despite the enormous challenges, daily life for millions of our ordinary citizens is vastly improved because we've chosen to resolve these difficulties politically," he said.

Dr Reid's comments were dismissed by the DUP MP for North Belfast, Mr Nigel Dodds, as the latest instalment of four years of "spin".

Mr Dodds said: "The truth is that, after four years of the Belfast Agreement, terrorist organisations are still intact, are still fully armed and are still engaged in violence and murder."

The leader of the SDLP, Mr Mark Durkan, also said that parts of the agreement had yet to be implemented. He said his party was alarmed at British proposals for the reform of the criminal justice system in the North, and the lack of a bill of rights.

"We cannot be complacent. There are still many parts of the agreement that have not been implemented and the SDLP will continue to press for those issues to be resolved," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior Ulster Unionist indicated that the party would be prepared to accept an agreement on the return to Northern Ireland of IRA fugitives, without any imprisonment.

Mr Dermot Nesbitt, Minister for the Environment, insisted that an outright amnesty for about 30 fugitives was unacceptable, but he suggested that a "judicial process" which allowed a return might be tolerable.

Mr Nesbitt refused to be drawn on the details of the party's discussions with the British government on the issue, but said: "We do recognise there are 30 years of violence we are trying to come out of it."