Sir, - The one-sided focus on the decommissioning of only paramilitary weapons is incredible. In effect, the weapons of the IRA, UDA and UVF are already out of commission. Contrast this with the weapons of the RUC and British Army, which have killed nearly 400, mostly unarmed, Irish citizens. These weapons are still being deployed on our streets by those responsible for the killings and must be faced every day by the relatives of the victims.
What is the real agenda behind the highly selective promotion of the decommissioning issue and why is the media allowing themselves to be sidelined by this spin? Have no lessons been learned from 1994-1996 when the obstacle of decommissioning was allowed to block the peace process?
It should be remembered that the IRA had virtually no weapons in 1969 when the RUC killed the first victims of the troubles. It could be argued that it was the inability of the then IRA leadership to defend the nationalist community that led to the past 30 years of conflict. Without the prosecution, or at least dismissal, of those members of the British Forces who killed unarmed Irish citizens, it would be irresponsible for the IRA to leave the nationalist community defenceless once again. - Yours, etc., Sean Marlow,
Willow Park Road, Dublin 11.