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Saturday Morning News

IRA Announces Plans to Disarm

Aired May 6, 2000 - 8:28 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We have a developing story to report out of Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army has announced that it will soon begin disarming. The announcement, just a day after the British and Irish governments extended the deadline for disarmament could signal major progress in peacemaking efforts in the region.

For the latest we turn to CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us on the telephone from Belfast.

Nic, do you think the disarmament is coming forward because of the negotiations and the commitment by the two governments?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Certainly this statement by the IRA is in response to the announcement by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the British and Irish prime ministers late last night. The prime ministers said they had a proposal and they asked the parties and in particular the paramilitaries to respond positively and almost within 12 hours of making that statement late last night, the IRA has responded. It said it will initiate a process to put completely and verifiably beyond use within weeks, or to begin within weeks its weapons.

Now it's gone on to say that it envisages some sort of system of the weapons being in arms dumps that are sealed and then verified by a third independent party. Now, that is not quite what some of the Protestant politicians and people in Northern Ireland were expecting. They were expecting the IRA to hand in guns and to be able to see those guns effectively cut up and in their minds put beyond use. So the key factor in Northern Ireland now is the IRA statement, strong enough to convince the Protestants that they can go back into the power sharing government with the Catholics -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nic, let's talk about the negotiations and the two promises that were made from the two governments. I understand one involves paroling all remaining IRA prisoners and also some changes in regard to a predominantly Protestant police force.

ROBERTSON: There are many, many issues that have beset the peace process here in Northern Ireland. Prisoner releases is one. Any move by the British government to indicate that it will continue its release of IRA prisoners and it's announced that it will release more on, by the 28th of July this year, is a good sign, a good act of faith viewed, that's how the IRA would view such a statement from the British government. Other things that the British government have done in this proposal, they have said that they would view this statement by the IRA as meaning that the tension in Northern Ireland had gone down and the IRA and Sinn Fein, their political wing, have been arguing that there are too many British troops on the streets in Northern Ireland. The British government has said they will only reduce those troops if the security situation improves. The IRA statement, the British government has said in its statement last night, would indicate that the security situation is being reduced so thereby the British government saying that they may now reduce the number of British troops. And Northern Ireland says many things at play here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nic, quickly, before we let you go, will you be talking to Gerry Adams?

ROBERTSON: Gerry Adams will be talking with us in about 45 minutes and giving us his analysis of the statement by the IRA. Gerry Adams has already welcomed the statement by the British government. It will be interesting to hear just what he has to say about the IRA statement.

PHILLIPS: And we'll be following it. Nic Robertson live from Belfast, thank you.

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