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Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Lockington has issued the following statement on the present situation.
The changed situation following from the statements issued by the British and Irish Governments and the IRA statement, has provided the opportunity for political parties to re-engage in a devolved Assembly.
Devolution gives the political representatives of the people of Northern Ireland the opportunity to work together and gives greater control over their own destiny than does Direct Rule. People are clearly interested in having locally elected politicians address local issues like the crisis in farming. However, many are still finding it difficult to accept Executive posts being held by people with inextricable links to terrorist organisations.
Therefore the possibility of restored institutions faces the community with very real challenges. In such circumstances it is imperative for Christian people to pray for wisdom, integrity and courage.
While the statement from the IRA is an improvement on the situation which obtained when the Assembly was suspended in February, it does not go as far as I would have wished. Though guns are better in secure bunkers being inspected by people who are working with the International Commission on Decommissioning than being held in a totally unsupervised way, this should only be a step towards the total decommissioning of all illegal weapons.
I refuse to join in the legitimisation of the IRA or of Loyalist paramilitaries and it remains a political necessity and a moral obligation in a democracy that all illegal arms be dealt with in ways envisaged by the Belfast Agreement, agreed by the politicians and endorsed by the Referenda.
John Lockington
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Issued by Stepen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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