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Mr. David Maclean (Penrith and The Border): It is not just that General de Chastelain makes it clear in his report that there should be destruction. That is the obligation imposed under section 3 of the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997, which states that there should be destruction by the commission, by the terrorists or by a designated person. There is no other option.
Mr. Donaldson: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention; he is absolutely right. I was going on to refer to the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997. There has been much speculation in the media about other forms of decommissioning. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity tonight to rule out that speculation, and to confirm that the only forms of decommissioning acceptable are those provided for under the legislation passed by Parliament--namely, the 1997 Act, which requires the destruction of weaponry by the various terrorist organisations. That is important, because some people out there seem to think that decommissioning is a flexible thing that can be played around with, and that the law that has been passed by Parliament can be ignored. The order before us reminds us that there are legal implications in the act of decommissioning that cannot be ignored. I therefore trust that the Government will take this opportunity to remind everyone of the legality of decommissioning and the requirements for it, as laid down by Parliament in the 1997 Act.
The Act also provides for decommissioning schemes. The Minister himself published those schemes, and the criteria set out in them further make it clear that destruction of weapons is required for proper, verifiable decommissioning. I hope that the Minister will confirm that the decommissioning schemes that he signed on 29 June 1998 are still relevant, and will continue to be relevant, in providing for decommissioning of illegal terrorist arms.
That brings me to the reports of the independent international commission and, in particular, to the report published on 11 February--last Friday. That has been the subject of much comment in recent days, particularly since the suspension of the institutions. The Irish Government claim that the report from General de Chastelain published on 11 February represents a significant breakthrough. Their remarks are endorsed by representatives of Sinn Fein/IRA. Yet the Minister referred to the two questions posed in the House by the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh (Mr. Mallon)--namely, will the IRA decommission, and when will it decommission? I do not believe that the report from the independent commission of 11 February answers either of those questions. It does not contain a firm commitment by the IRA to decommission its illegal weapons, nor does it in any sense provide an indication of when the IRA will decommission its illegal weapons.
Let me be clear: from the perspective of the Ulster Unionist party, without those questions being addressed, and without the commencement of verifiable, substantial decommissioning by the IRA, we will not be sitting in an Executive with its political representatives. That is the view that was taken by the Ulster Unionist council at
the weekend. I believe that that view is credible, and that it has the support of by far the greater number of people in Northern Ireland who have, in successive opinion polls, shown that they want decommissioning to take place.
Mr. Frank Field (Birkenhead):
Would the hon. Gentleman care to amend that statement? It is the view of the whole country, not just of Northern Ireland, that that should take place.
Mr. Donaldson:
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He is absolutely correct. Not only is it the view of the overwhelming majority of people in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but I believe that it is the view of the people of the Irish Republic as well. Decommissioning is central to establishing a commitment by terrorist organisations, including so-called loyalists, to exclusively peaceful means. That commitment lies at the heart of the process, and it must be addressed if we are to be clear that what we have in Northern Ireland is a genuine peace.
Real peace is not just the absence of violence, but the absence of a threat of violence. The arms in the possession of terrorist organisations represent a threat to stability. I want the terrorist organisations to decommission. I want political progress in Northern Ireland. I want democratic and accountable institutions to be re-established, but they must be on a firm footing. Many desire the quick re-establishment of those institutions, but the speed of the re-establishment of the Assembly, the Executive and the other bodies will be solely determined by the ability of the terrorist organisations to answer the questions posed by the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh and to act on those questions by beginning to decommission their weapons.
A fudge will not provide a solution; that much is clear. Fudging has brought us to the crisis we face today. We are talking about building trust. If we are to make progress in Northern Ireland, trust is essential. The people whom I represent must know that the men and women who have waged war against them through terror have left that terror behind. If we must suffer the pain of early release of terrorist prisoners and the many other concessions that have been made, we need to know that gain will flow from disarmament by all of the terrorist organisations.
Dr. Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde):
I have some sympathy with what the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr. Donaldson) said about decommissioning meaning the destruction of weapons. I have less sympathy, however, with his view of
The hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor) said, I think, that this was an unexceptional order. To a large extent, I agree, as I agree with him about the suspension of the institutions.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
I have consulted my brief, and I believe that I said that the order was unexceptionable as far as we were concerned. In other words, we took no exception to it.
Dr. Godman:
I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who shows his characteristic courtesy. I thought that I had said that he said that he and his party thought that the order was unexceptional. However, I am glad that he clarified the point for me. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Mr. Öpik) laughs, but it is a matter of profound concern and regret that on Friday, in the late afternoon, the Secretary of State took the decision that he did.
I have seen the Assembly at work, as I pointed out in the debate last week. A couple of weeks ago, I spent a whole day in the Assembly. Its workings would immediately be familiar to any Member of the House or of the Scottish Parliament. Ministers and Bank Benchers went about their work, dealing with a huge farmers' lobby--between 2,500 and 3,000 farmers were lobbying the Assembly on the day of my visit.
I listened to a debate initiated by the hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley). The debate called for greater support for the crisis-ridden farming industry and received wide support from the other parties.
As the hon. Member for Lagan Valley pointed out, the Assembly was working, and will work, fruitfully on behalf of both communities in Northern Ireland. It is regrettable that the decision was taken to suspend the Executive, the Assembly, the British-Irish Council and the north-south bodies. It may well be that the 22 May deadline will have to be readjusted--although I hope that I am wrong. In that case, we would need a new order.
Some people in Northern Ireland believe that the suspension may not be of short duration, and that we shall not be able to hold to the 22 May deadline. General de Chastelain's contract ends on that date, so this is a worrying time not only for the people of Northern Ireland, but for those of the Irish Republic and Britain.
Mr. Taylor:
Does the hon. Gentleman not concede that, to some of those people who made sacrifices to participate in the Executive, decommissioning was an essential component of the arrangement?
Dr. Godman:
I have always argued that genuine, comprehensive decommissioning--as described by the hon. Member for Lagan Valley--is at the heart of the Northern Ireland peace agreement. No one could deny that.
Unlike the hon. Members for East Londonderry (Mr. Ross) and for Lagan Valley, I am only a visitor to Northern Ireland--albeit a frequent one--but everyone I
speak to in both communities is desperately anxious that the deadline be adhered to. However, there are concerns that anti-agreement politicians want delays, procrastination and prevarication, so that things begin to splinter. That is a dreadful prospect for the people of Northern Ireland.
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