Clause 23
Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
4:30 pm
I admitted earlier that I was pleased to serve in the Committee under your chairmanship, Mr. Atkinson.
We in the Social Democratic and Labour party share the frustration of the hon. Member for North Down that decommissioning has been such a long drawn-out process. We are outraged that many of the groups have not decommissioned at all. Dissident republican factions justify their refusal to end violence and destroy their weapons, based on a fairly warped understanding of Irish history which Irish people do not generally share. They claim that in making their bombs, as they did last week in Lurgan, they are somehow upholding the will of the Irish people.
The people of Ireland, whether nationalist or Unionist, want and deserve a peaceful future. If dissident republicans care anything, or have any respect for what they claim to be the will of the people, they have no option but to destroy their weapons now and go away.
As for loyalist paramilitary groups, as tomorrow’s IMC report will doubtless make clear, they remain active and, to my mind, dangerous. They are dangerous to themselves and each other, but far more importantly, to the general public. The UDA and the UVF have yet to decommission a single bullet. Their spokesmen openly say that that is not even on their agenda. It is disgraceful that the Democratic Unionist parties and the Government have, at best, not put them under any serious pressure to get rid of their arms and ammunition. In some cases, they have offered ready-made excuses for them.
I shall give an example. Last February, after a meeting with the international decommissioning body, the DUP leader predicted that the IRA had held on to some guns and said that loyalist people should be forearmed to meet what was going to happen. In other words, he predicted that there would be a further outbreak of IRA violence. Whatever was meant by that, those who carry guns and call themselves loyalists will have only one interpretation of it: “Hold on to your guns, guys, because you’re going to need them.” Such inflammatory remarks have shown a serious lack of leadership on the part of the leader of the DUP and a reckless disregard for the safety of the public.
There is only one message that needs to be given to the loyalist paramilitary groups, and I appeal to hon. Members on the other side of the Committee to give it. It is the same as the one that we are giving and have given loud and clear to republicans and to dissident republicans. We loudly, clearly and unambiguously say: “Wind up all your activity. Destroy your guns now, and leave people in the island of Ireland, both nationalists and Unionists, to the peaceful and democratic future that they all deserve.”
I have a lot of sympathy with the amendment proposed by the hon. Member for North Down. 2010 is a long time for the amnesty to continue, but as I understand it, just because the option is there to allow an amnesty until then does not mean that it will be allowed to go on until then. Is the Minister prepared to give some sort undertaking that, even though there is an option to keep the amnesty until 2010, it will not necessarily be left until that very backstop position? Such an assurance from the Minister would go a long way. I would find it difficult not to support the Government. But 2010 is a long way off and we need a strong reassurance that that is the final backstop position and that there will be no further extensions and excuses and that no further allowances will be made.