No inventory of decommissioned arms

Published Monday, 04 July 2011
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First Minister Peter Robinson has called for a full inventory of the weapons put beyond use during the peace process to be made public after the decommissioning body said details will be securely held in Washington instead.

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The two watchdogs monitoring paramilitary activity and the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland published their final reports on Monday.

The final report by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) does not list detailed files of arms decommissioned by paramilitary organisations during its 14-year existence.

Commissioners say that "providing details now of what paramilitary arms have been put beyond use, could, in our opinion, encourage attacks on those groups which have taken risks for peace.

"This is true of both Loyalists and Republican paramilitary groups. We would not wish, inadvertently, to discourage future decommissioning events by groups that are actively engaged today, nor to deter groups that have decommissioned their arms from handing over any arms that may subsequently come to light".

The detailed files on all the guns, munitions and explosives put beyond use by the IRA, UDA and UVF, amongst others, will instead be held by the US State Department in Washington.

"The IICD has made arrangements for the safe retention of the records of decommissioned arms by the United States Department of State in Washington who will hold them securely", Secretary of State Owen Paterson confirmed.

This was rightly a decision taken independently by the Commission.

Secretary of State Owen Paterson

Mr Robinson says it is "vital" that the "complete inventory of everything that has been destroyed" be made public.

"The public has a right to know what has been achieved and I would urge the Secretary of State to ensure the inventory, which should have been passed to our Government and the government of the Irish Republic is published", the DUP leader said.

Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott said the decision was "simply not acceptable".

"I know it is the 4th of July, but other than that I cannot understand why the US State Department has been involved in this way.

"The bulk of these weapons were stored in Northern Ireland and used to murder, maim or threaten the people of Northern Ireland. I would have thought that they are entitled to know the facts ahead of the US State Department", he said.

TUV leader Jim Allister called the decision "absolutely outrageous".

"I suspect that if the inventory was to be published people would see just how big a con job decommissioning was," he said.

In a separate report, the watchdog tasked with monitoring paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland says that dissident republicans are "brutally active, especially against members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland".

The Independent Monitoring Commission says police officers now are "at greater threat" than seven years ago when the watchdog was first established.

Since 2004, the IMC recorded 21 paramilitary murders and over 800 reported casualties of paramilitary violence.

"Whilst the Commission has completed its remit, the security position In Northern Ireland is far from ideal", Mr Paterson said.

"As the violence in a part of East Belfast recently revealed, there remain those who have rejected peace and politics and who actively work to undermine it. The Government remains committed to doing all it can to end violence and to enable all the people of Northern Ireland to live peacefully and safely as is their right."

The decision to axe the two paramilitary watchdogs was taken by the British and Irish Governments last year.

"Only a week or so ago we witnessed guns being used on the streets of Northern Ireland", Mr Robinson said.

"People will be naturally nervous that such arms are still in circulation and it is up to the Government to justify their decision to abolish the body responsible for dealing with these issues", the DUP leader added.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the party was happy that the process of dealing with IRA weapons had been completed.

"Given the activities of the UVF in particular in recent times and the failure of the DUP formed Ulster Resistance to engage at all with the IICD there is a view that the arms issue has not been properly dealt with by sections of unionism," Mr Adams added.

"With the end of the IICD mandate that is now a matter for the PSNI to pursue in the time ahead."

© UTV News
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11 Comments
Sean in Derry wrote (315 days ago):
Dont worry people if the US government has the details they will be on wikileaks in a few months
Nick Kent in London wrote (316 days ago):
Firstly Mike the public are not entitled in law to have this information under a FOI. That being the case the identity of every soldier / policeman that gave evidence from behind a screen at inquests or the redacted inquest documentation would both be made available to the public. The process of putting arms beyond use was left to the IICD and it's right that they should decide what happens with the info. The only armed group not to engage with the IICD was Ulster Resistance. Perhaps they sold their share of Brian Nelson's /MI5's massive South Sfrican arms importation operation to the Dissie Reps? (sarcasm off)
Brendan in Lisburn wrote (317 days ago):
Does anyone actually believe weapons were put beyond use? This was a stage managed farce from start to end. We ALL have a right to know what weapons( if any) were "dumped". I bet that somewhere within PSNI/MI5 there are files which show that ballistics checks confirm supposed decomissioned guns have been used recently.
Michael H in Belfast wrote (317 days ago):
Why are the Americans holding on to this. What are they hiding. Maybe the fact that not all the weapons were handed over (even the dogs on the street knew this). These inventories should be handed to the British & Irish Governments. We are not part of the United States and they have no right to hold these.
its a joke in ards wrote (317 days ago):
why are they scared to tell what has been given up?is it because not all the weapons have been handed over?this is more the truth.
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