TUV calls for weapons inventory
The TUV leader Jim Allister has called for the publication of a detailed list of weapons decommissioned by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
All paramilitary groups on ceasefire have now disposed of their weapons, as the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning ends 13 years of work in the region.
Jim Allister has called for the body to publish a list or inventory of material that has been decommissioned.
"The International Decommissioning Body claims to hold this information, so why is it continuing to conceal it from the public?" He asked.
"It is now time for the public to know exactly what has been decommissioned."
"If there is nothing to hide then let full inventories be published, as promised within the statutory framework of decommissioning."
An IICD spokesman said part of their mandate has been to keep an inventory of decommissioned weapons.
The Commission will be supplying a full inventory of decommissioned weapons to the British and Irish governments along with their final report later this year, the spokesman added.
Led throughout by retired Canadian General John de Chastelain, the IICD closed its offices in Belfast on Tuesday.
Although its operation in Dublin will not be wound up until the end of the month, the mandate given to it by the British and Irish governments in 1997 is effectively at an end.
The Irish National Liberation Army, the Official IRA and a break-away faction of the Ulster Defence Association waited until the very last day of its mandate to finally announce they had put their weapons beyond use.
The three groups announced they had disarmed on Monday, 24 hours before an amnesty from prosecution was due to expire.
In total the commission cost around £10m to maintain during its existence.
Sir George Quigley, an independent witness called in to validate the IICD's engagement with the UDA, said the commissioners had proved what could be achieved through perseverance.
"A great element of the equation was simply their patience and willingness to talk and engage with people over long periods of time," he said.
"That has paid off. This was never going to be a quick fix overnight. They stuck at it and they got their rewards. In many ways they were rewarded for their endurance."
Other fringe republican and loyalist groups remain involved in violence and various illegal activities.
Any paramilitaries found in possession of weapons now face prosecution and imprisonment.
Recovered arms will also be forensically tested to secure convictions.
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