UUP meeting dismissed as 'media stunt'

The Ulster Unionist's meeting with the decommissioning body was described as a "media stunt" by anti-Belfast Agreement assemblyman Mr Nigel Dodds.

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Instead of engaging in media stunts, Mr Trimble should join with the DUP to exclude Sinn Fein from government as he promised.
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Democratic Unionist MLA, Mr Nigel Dodds

The Democratic Unionist MLA claimed the meeting was being used as "a smokescreen" to cover the absence of any action on the weapons issue.

Mr Dodds said: "General John de Chastelain's report last week amounted to no progress apart from putting the IRA back to where they were a year ago.

"Instead of engaging in media stunts, Mr Trimble should join with the DUP to exclude Sinn Fein from government as he promised.

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"There can be no excuse for his failure to act in light of the damning report delivered last week from General de Chastelain."

After the meeting the UUP said republicans need to up the pace over the issue of arms decommissioning.

Mr David McNarry, the party's Strangford representative, said there were still no signs that Sinn Féin and the IRA were inclined to move on the question of putting weapons beyond use "at a pace with which society will be comfortable with".

He said: "It is clear to us that what needs to happen now is that there needs to be a quick shift onto the methodology as to how we move this situation forward".

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It is clear to us that what needs to happen now is that there needs to be a quick shift onto the methodology as to how we move this situation forward.
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UUP Strangford representative, Mr David McNarry

"And whilst it also appears to us that two weeks' have lapsed since the last meeting (between the IRA and the Arms Commission), there are no clear indications that Sinn Féin/IRA seem intent on moving this forward at a pace.

Mr McNarry described their meeting with General de Chastelain as an "arms audit".

He said Ulster Unionists were focused on the decommissioning issue and on the need for Republicans to honour their commitment to the putting of IRA weapons beyond use.

The UUP's meeting with the de Chastelain Commission was convened after the decommissioning body's report last Thursday on its contacts with the IRA in recent weeks.

The Commission had expressed its belief that progress can be achieved on IRA disarmament.

PA