INLA get rid of weapons
The INLA, which killed more than two dozen people in the North West over the past 35 years, yesterday confirmed that it has decommissioned its weapons.
The announcement was made by Derry republican Martin McMonagle at a press conference in Belfast yesterday morning.
Mr McMonagle, who read a statement on behalf of the INLA's leadership, said the group made "no apology" for its role in the conflict - which included a bomb attack on the Droppin' Well pub in Ballykelly in 1982 in which 17 people were killed.
The last three killings blamed on the INLA were all carried out in Derry.
Reading the INLA statement, Mr McMonagle said: "The circumstances which brought about the need for armed conflict have changed radically. We, along with other republicans, can claim some credit for the progress that has been made. We can now confirm that the INLA has disarmed through a joint facilitation group consisting of a local, a national and an international organisation. This was done in a process in accordance with international standards."
The joint facilitation group included Derry community group, Creggan Enterprises, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and the Dialogue Advisory Group from Amsterdam.
Mr McMonagle said the aims of the republican socialist movement remained the same and that INLA volunteers would now pursue those objectives through "the primacy of politics."
Conal McFeely, from Creggan Enterprises, was among those who witnessed the destruction of the INLA weapons.
He told the 'Journal': "We can confirm that we were part of a Joint Facilitation Group that assisted the Irish National Liberation Army in putting weapons under its control beyond use. We transferred the weapons to the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning and witnessed the weapons being put beyond use. This announcement today can only be viewed as a good news story and should be welcomed."
While the INLA has officially been on ceasefire since 1998, it has claimed responsibility for a number of killings since then. In June 2007, the group shot nightclub doorman Bryan McGlynn at his Fountain Hill home after accusing him of using their name in order to deal drugs. In February last year, the INLA killed Jim McConnell at his Prehen home after accusing him of involvement in the drugs trade.
Two weeks ago, in what is likely to be the last armed action carried out by the INLA, three masked gunmen fired a volley of shots over the coffin of a former republican prisoner in Cable Street.
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Weather for Derry
Sunday 12 February 2012
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Temperature: 5 C to 9 C
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