Statement by the Taoiseach welcoming todays statement by the UDA/UFF announcing an indefinite extension of their military inactivity
I welcome todays statement by the UDA/UFF announcing an indefinite extension of their military inactivity.
The UDA/UFF statement represents an important commitment by those organisations to the achievement of a political settlement that can be supported by all communities in Northern Ireland.Moreover, it is significant that the UDA/UFF wish to develop relationships with the nationalist community based on mutual respect and equity and that they want to move forward towards a new Northern Ireland that is free from all forms of sectarianism and racism. I hope that this development will help to ease tensions on the streets and to further develop a climate of confidence between both communities.
We take this as a serious initiative and are mindful of the efforts of all those who have worked hard to bring it about. If the aspirations of the statement are to be realised, the future actions of the wider organisation must match the words that its leadership has spoken today.
In Coleraine on Thursday, I said that the Government wished to see confident and vibrant loyalist communities become stakeholders in a new Northern Ireland based on partnership. Todays statement by the UDA/UFF is an important step in the achievement of that vision.I look forward to continuing to work with the political representatives of loyalism in further developing a constructive partnership between us.
24 February 2004