According to anonymous (again) briefings given to The Irish Examiner’s Harry McGee, there’s quite a carrot being dangled in front of the DUP. Or, rather, it’s being dangled in front of the public for the DUP to reach for… or not.The article contains what, at first glance, may appear to be a final “ground-breaking movement” (copyright G Adams)
“The IRA will formally declare it is being disbanded before, or during, March 2005 if the staged process that will flow from an agreement proceeds smoothly”
But look again.. there’s that “if the staged process… proceeds smoothly”
Now, I’m as optimistic as the next man.. ie not very… but that statement is no different from the previous statement by Gerry Adams, prior to the Leeds Castle talks, when he talked of the IRA going out of business as part of a ‘process of sustainable change’.
There’s a little more detail, in that it includes the information that “the former IRA personnel will form part of an expanded political intelligence-gathering unit” within Sinn Féin – a ‘formal’ merger with ‘guaranteed’ jobs? It also spells out some of the concessions and the political cover for the DUP on the issue of on-the-runs.
But, despite the headline, and the favourable review in the editorial, the only ‘new’ development is the use of the term “will formally disband” – the problem is it’s an unattributed quote.
A dangling carrot for public consumption.. assuming we get the opportunity to bite before it’s snatched away.