UUP urge Reid to review IRA ceasefire status

An Ulster Unionist Party motion calling on the Secretary of State to assess the current status of the IRA ceasefire was debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday April 29.

First Minister David Trimble held that the Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid has a duty to take action against Sinn Féin over recent incidents, including the Castlereagh raid and the arrest of IRA suspects in Colombia.

His party are urging Dr Reid in the assembly to assess whether the IRA ceasefire had been broken.

The motion submitted for debate was: “Recalling the acceptance by all parties of the Mitchell principles of democracy and non-violence and the requirement in the Belfast Agreement for a commitment to exclusively peaceful means and being deeply concerned by recent violence, including murders and paramilitary actions, in Northern Ireland, England, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere, this Assembly calls on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following his recent determination on the status of the UDA/UFF ceasefire, to make a determination on the status of the IRA ceasefire and to make a statement indicating the consequent measures he considers appropriate.”

Speaking ahead of the debate on Monday April 29 Mr Trimble said he was prepared to use the “nuclear option” and collapse the Northern Ireland assembly if the British government failed to act.

However, this tactic was sharply criticised by Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness who said: “We know what happened at Hiroshima, we know what happened at Nagasaki. Why are we talking about making the north of Ireland effectively a political wasteland?”

(AMcE)