Time for war is over: IRSP
Connla Young, Daily Ireland, Wednesday 5th


DISARM: INLA’s political wing accuses dissident republican groups of having no strategy

“They should lay down arms and engage with other republicans. I would call on these organisations to talk to the IRSP and other republicans, especially anti-Good Friday Agreement republicans”

The Irish Republican Socialist Party has called on anti-Agreement republicans not on ceasefire to bring their armed campaigns to a close.
The call was made at the annual Séamus Costello commemoration in Bray, Co Wicklow, last weekend by IRSP national executive member Eddie McGarrigle.

Mr McGarrigle, who is based in Strabane in Co Tyrone, said during his address that it was time for the Continuity IRA and Real IRA — militant groups opposed to the Good Friday Agreement — to call off their respective campaigns. “There is no support for them within working-class communities. They are not alone in having misgivings about the Good Friday Agreement and there are many who believe it will not lead to a lasting settlement but armed struggle is not the way to go about bringing change. “These groups have got to get back to politics. British intelligence is so much ingrained in these organisations on the ground that they have no strategy at all. For these republicans to retain their dignity, they have to call a ceasefire now. Their pretence of an armed struggle has clouded issues affecting working-class communities. They are in danger of letting the republican cause down by further action. They should lay down arms and engage with other republicans. I would call on these organisation to talk to the IRSP and other republicans, especially anti-Good Friday Agreement republicans. Republican prisoners always had a place where they had a voice. Both they and their families need to be consulted North and South and need to be involved in dialogue. Their prisoners have got to be consulted,” he said.

The ceasefire call from the IRSP, which offers political advice to the Irish National Liberation Army, will be seen as significant by political observers.
The comments come 28 years to the day since the founder of both groups, Séamus Costello, was gunned down in Dublin by members of the Official IRA.

While adopting a strong position against the Good Friday Agreement, the INLA has been on ceasefire since August 1998. At that time, it abandoned its “no first strike” policy in favour of a complete end to hostilities.
Mr McGarrigle said there was no longer an appetite for a militant campaign against British forces within nationalist and republican communities.

The appeal to other militant republican groups to lay down their weapons comes just over a week after the IRA put its arms beyond use. The disarmament move followed a statement released in July that brought a halt to the organisation’s 35-year campaign. The IRA had been on ceasefire since 1997.

The Real IRA called a ceasefire on September 8, 1998 in the aftermath of the August 1998 Omagh bombing, which led to the deaths of 29 people. Within two years, the organisation abandoned its ceasefire with the launch of a bombing campaign in Britain. The organisation was also responsible for the killing of civilian worker David Caldwell. He died after lifting a booby-trap device at a Territorial Army base in August 2002.
In December 2004, the Real IRA was responsible for a fire-bomb blitz that caused thousands of pounds of damage in stores across the North.
The organisation has also been responsible for a number of failed attacks on British security forces since 1998.

The Continuity IRA has been in existence since 1986. It was responsible for a blast-bomb attack on members of the PSNI during heavy rioting in Ardoyne in July this year.
“For these republicans to retain their dignity, they have to call a ceasefire now.
“Their pretence of an armed struggle has clouded issues affecting working-class communities. They are in danger of letting the republican cause down by further action.

“They should lay down arms and engage with other republicans. I would call on these organisation to talk to the IRSP and other republicans, especially anti-Good Friday Agreement republicans.

“Republican prisoners always had a place where they had a voice. Both they and their families need to be consulted North and South and need to be involved in dialogue. Their prisoners have got to be consulted,” he said.

The ceasefire call from the IRSP, which offers political advice to the Irish National Liberation Army, will be seen as significant by political observers.

The comments come 28 years to the day since the founder of both groups, Séamus Costello, was gunned down in Dublin by members of the Official IRA.
While adopting a strong position against the Good Friday Agreement, the INLA has been on ceasefire since August 1998. At that time, it abandoned its “no first strike” policy in favour of a complete end to hostilities.

Mr McGarrigle said there was no longer an appetite for a military campaign against British forces within nationalist and republican communities.

The appeal to other republican groups to lay down their weapons comes just over a week after the IRA put its arms beyond use. The disarmament move followed a statement released in July that brought a halt to the organisation’s 35-year campaign.

The IRA had been on ceasefire since 1997.

The Real IRA called a ceasefire in the aftermath of the August 1998 Omagh bombing, which led to the deaths of 29 people.

Within two years, it abandoned its ceasefire with a bombing campaign in Britain.
The Continuity IRA has been in existence since 1986.