NORTHERN IRELAND'S DECOMMISSIONED ARMS TO STAY SECRET

Inventory of weapons put beyond use by paramilitaries during peace process will not be made public, says disarmament body

• Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 July 2011


Northern Ireland’s decommissioned arms will remain a secret to avoid discouraging future acts of decommissioning by other terror groups. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

The inventory of every gun, bullet, rocket launcher, grenade and explosive put beyond use by the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries will not be made public, the body that oversaw the disarmament process in Northern Ireland has said.

In the final report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, it said files on the weapons and explosives decommissioned by the paramilitary organisations will instead be held by the US state department in Washington.

The commission said part of the reason behind its decision was to avoid discouraging future acts of decommissioning by other terror groups in Ireland. This would include those anti-ceasefire republicans such as the Real IRA who are still engaged in "armed struggle".

The final report published on Monday by the Irish and British governments reflects on the body's work since it was established in 1997 to facilitate the destruction of weapons and explosives belonging to paramilitary organisations on ceasefire.

It provides an account of decommissioning events and a summary of key factors that enabled the commission to deliver its objectives, and highlights the lessons learnt.

In a statement, Northern Ireland's secretary of state, Owen Paterson, said the commission's task had been difficult and that the commissioners had worked tirelessly to achieve their goal. With the acts of decommissioning secured they had contributed to making the North a more peaceful and stable society, he added.

Paterson admitted that despite the destruction of paramilitary arms some organisations still posed a threat. He said: "As the IMC themselves note, while the commission has completed its remit, the security position In Northern Ireland is far from ideal. 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. I am conscious that parliament and the public will wish to be kept informed of progress on a regular basis. I therefore intend to make statements to parliament every six months summarising the threat, in keeping with the timescales on which the IMC used to issue its reports."

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