Sir, - I think it would be quite enlightening if The Irish Times were to reprint its interview with David Trimble on Friday, November 26th, the day before the UUP convention which preceded the establishment of the political institutions in Northern Ireland.
The article made clear David Trimble's belief at that point that the decommissioning issue should be left to General de Chastelain and his independent commission to deal with: "I think, actually, when people see the outworking of the de Chastelain commission they will see that it is going to be addressed through that."
Given that Gen. de Chastelain reported on Friday, February 11th that he believed he could fulfil his mandate in the time-scale laid down in the Belfast Agreement, why did David Trimble repudiate the professional opinion of this man of international renown and integrity by forcing the collapse of the institutions?
The IRA initiative that day did not come too late; David Trimble's resignation letter - if it was required at all - came three months too early. - Yours, etc., Ian Rushforth,
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England.