Loyalists begin to decommission weapons
Loyalist paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland have begun to decommission their weapons.
RTÉ News understands that the chairman of the decommissioning body, General John De Chastelain, witnessed decommissioning acts by the UVF and the UDA.
Getting loyalist paramilitaries to give up their guns has been one of the most significant challenges of Northern Ireland’s still evolving peace process.
The loyalists are not significant political players and this factor has made persuading them to renounce violence all the more difficult.
However, for the best part of two years considerable effort has gone on behind the scenes to cajole and pressure the loyalists to decommission.
General John de Chastelain, the Canadian who oversaw IRA decommissioning, was in Belfast last month.
During that time the two main loyalist paramilitary organisations, the UVF and the UDA, put weapons beyond use.
They have not decommissioned all their weapons.
An official announcement about what took place was not expected for several weeks.
However, with so many parties involved, a leak was inevitable and a reaction from the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland’s power-sharing administration is expected today.
The loyalists will now be expected to continue with the process they have started until all their weapons are put beyond use.
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde has hailed the move as ‘very good news’.
He said: ‘More guns are off the streets as a result of the decision by both the UDA, as I understand it, and the UVF.’
He said their decision to decommission finally had not come as a surprise and that legislation that Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward introduced earlier this year, giving the loyalists until August to decommission, had helped.
Mr Orde said: ‘I think the legislation put an additional pressure on these groups and they had to make a decision.
‘They have made that leap in what has been a very challenging week for Northern Ireland.’
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