IRA statement on deal collapse

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The following is the full text of a statement issued
this evening by the IRA.
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After protracted and detailed discussions, the leadership of
the IRA recently made decisions to take initiatives with the
objective of facilitating political progress.

These decisions were made after the UUP and the two
governments had agreed to make their contributions as part of
an agreed sequence.

We had sight of their stated positions and they had sight of
ours.

Our initiatives, in line with our stated position, related to
our commitment to resolve the issue of arms and our view of
remarks made by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.

It was part of an agreement and an agreed sequence, which
involved:

* The announcement of an election
* A statement by Gerry Adams
* A statement from the IRA leadership
* An act of putting arms beyond use
* A report by the IICD
* A statement by David Trimble
* A joint statement by the two governments

As part of this we:

* Met with the IICD with a view to implementing a process to
put arms beyond use at the earliest opportunity

* We, in line with that, carried out a further act of putting
arms beyond use under the agreed scheme. This involved the
largest amount of arms to date.

The political process the initiatives were designed to
facilitate has been halted without a credible explanation from
those who stopped it.

The leadership of the IRA honoured our commitments. Others
have not fulfilled theirs. This is totally unacceptable. When
we give our word, we keep it. We expect others to do the same.

Until they do so, there can be little prospect of progress on
the issues they profess concern about.

Signed
P O'Neill