THE THREE main loyalist paramilitary groups – the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Ulster Defence Association and the Red Hand Commando – recently carried out acts of weapons decommissioning, according to well-placed sources.
The disarmament is understood to have taken place this month with the head of the decommissioning body, Gen John de Chastelain, in attendance at the operations, along with one or two independent witnesses.
Gen de Chastelain, who has not confirmed the decommissioning, was due to make a report on disarmament in August, but that statement could be brought forward if, as expected, the loyalist paramilitaries shortly verify that they have disarmed.
There was little specific detail on the amount of arms and explosives decommissioned by the UDA, UVF and its smaller sister organisation, the Red Hand Commando. Sources, however, said that at least in relation to the UVF the amount was “significant and substantial”.
PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde disclosed yesterday that in addition to the UVF and Red Hand Commando, the largest loyalist organisation, the UDA, had also put away some of its arsenals, and this was supported by informed sources.
“More guns are off the streets as a result of the decision by both the UDA, as I understand it, and the UVF,” Sir Hugh said.
The three loyalist organisations appear to have been acting in tandem. It is understood that they were planning to jointly announce in the coming weeks that they had decommissioned.
Sir Hugh said the move was very significant. “I think it is a step change which shows a degree of organisation and commitment that perhaps we have not seen before,” he said.
The reaction of the British and Irish governments was circumscribed in that they could not announce disarmament until it had been officially confirmed by Gen de Chastelain.
At a press conference at Hillsborough Castle yesterday, Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward, while qualifying all his remarks, effectively provided that verification.
“If these reports were to be confirmed, what we would see would be a seismic transformation within loyalism,” he said. “What they would say is that loyalism has carried out a major act of decommissioning.”
Taoiseach Brian Cowen also stressed the need to wait for official confirmation. He welcomed the reports, however, adding: “I know that work has been ongoing with loyalist paramilitary organisations for many months.”
DUP First Minister Peter Robinson said his party had been in contact with the UVF and UDA leaderships over the past nine months. “The objective of the discussions has been to assist the organisations’ transformation from paramilitary organisations into people who are playing their full part in a peaceful and democratic Northern Ireland, with violence and criminality being firmly a thing of the past,” he said.
Dawn Purvis, leader of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party, said she could not confirm the reports. “What we do know is that all the loyalist organisations have been engaged with the IICD .”
Stormont junior Minister Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin indicated he believed the reports. “It is a great move forward. There have been a number of false starts, [but] there is some indication that this is the real thing. They haven’t been confirmed, but certainly there is an atmosphere of some hope,” he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey said the reports showed the progress that Northern Ireland had made.
SDLP Assembly member Alex Attwood said that while “long overdue”, the news was “nonetheless welcome, as long as it follows that the shadow of paramilitarism in all its expressions is removed from all our communities”.
Alliance leader David Ford said: “I hope that this move will lead to the end, not simply another endgame.”