Sir, - There are many on this island, many of them not unionists, who believe that there are moral and political reasons why the IRA should voluntarily make an early and significant gesture in the decommissioning of arms. We would like to suggest just a few reasons for why this should be done.As a response to the recent gestures on Orange parades.The IRA, in beginning to decommission arms, would again stake a claim to a place on the moral high ground, a place that was lost with the breaking of the last ceasefire. A result of any such decommissioning would place a heavy onus on all other parties involved to reciprocate in the case of their arms, both legal and illegal.Assurances were given that the last ceasefire was permanent. Given that those assurances proved worthless, something more tangible is now needed to reassure people.A message has to go to the IRA activists that this is the beginning of the end of the policy of armed resistance. Otherwise, as the talks progress satisfactorily, it may prove difficult to call in the arms. They might then fall into the hands of anti-social elements.The referenda in Scotland and Wales put Northern Ireland into an interesting perspective. It is no longer easy to claim that the British army is an occupying force in Northern Ireland.Unionists will no more be convinced by armed coercion than nationalists could be.The presence of IRA armed coercion prevents unionists from exploring their "Irishness".Arms should be anathema to a Republican movement.No! This is not the "last chance for peace in this century". It is the first chance for democracy. If the message of Republicanism has merit, let it rely solely on the power of peaceful persuasion. If Republicanism were to attempt to convince Unionism that it could offer a better way of life, then it could begin to make real progress. All sides need to remember that the way forward is through co-operation, not domination. - Yours, etc.,From John O'RiordanHon. Sec., Peace 93, Dalkey, Co. Dublin.