Republican News · Thursday 9 January 1996
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IRA ``unified, confident and steadfast''
The IRA has said it is ready to ``assist in the development of the conditions necessary'' for re-establishing a meaningful peace process. The message came in a New Year statement issued on 8 January. The full text of the statement reads:
``The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann extends New Year greetings to our friends and our supporters at home and abroad.
We send solidarity greetings to our comrades imprisoned in Ireland, England and the USA.
Our thoughts, at this particular time of year, are also with the families of Volunteers Ed O'Brien and Diarmuid O'Neill who tragically lost their lives in the past year.
As we move into the New Year we feel it appropriate to again reaffirm our steadfast commitment to our republican objectives. Our primary objective remains the reunification of our country. We reiterate also our commitment to the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Ireland.
Time and again in the past we have demonstrated clearly that we will face up to our responsibilities, either in the direct pursuit of our objectives or in assisting in the development of the conditions necessary for the establishment of a meaningful process with the potential for securing a lasting settlement to the conflict in Ireland.
On 9 February last we announced, with reluctance, an end to our complete cessation of military operations. Whilst we take full responsibility for that decision we remind John Major and his government that the opportunity for lasting peace, created by our initiative of 31 August 1994, 18 months earlier, had been gradually strangled to the point of extinction by himself and his cabinet long before our decision to resume military operations.
We commend those who, despite British bad faith, continue to rise to the challenge of attempting to put together a meaningful process aimed at initiating inclusive negotiations with the goal of attaining a lasting peace settlement.
In the 18 months prior to 9 February the British refused to do this. Events since then have demonstrated a continuing lack of political will, on their part, to do so. They remain both firmly opposed to the development of the required process and also committed to underpinning the Unionist agenda in whatever process takes root in its place, nowhere better exemplified than at Drumcree, on the Ormeau Road and in Derry in the summer months of last year.
Lasting peace requires an inclusive negotiated settlement. There can be no preconditions on participation in such negotiations.
We approach the year ahead unified, confident and steadfast in our commitment to succeed. No amount of British obduracy will deflect us from the task we have set ourselves. Beirigí bua.''
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