The INLA is reported to have declared that its war is over. The Sunday Times quotes sources saying that the INLA has no reason to continue its armed campaign. Sinn Féin has said that republicans will be sceptical about the report. The Ulster Unionist MP, Jeffrey Donaldson has called on the INLA to prove that they had declared a complete end to their campaign of violence. The INLA came to prominence in 1979, when it killed the British Conservative MP, Airey Neave, in a bomb attack in the House of Commons car park.
The newspaper quoted a source, described as a senior member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political party connected to the INLA, as saying that the INLA has assured them that as far as they are concerned the war is over and that they see no further basis for armed struggle. "There is no political or moral argument to justify a resumption of the campaign," the source continued.
The group is also reported to have rejected moves by hardline republican groups, the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA, to include it in a new pact. Security sources believe that the two dissident groups had planned to join forces with the INLA to wage a bombing campaign in Britain. However, the INLA is believed instead to be promoting the idea of a non-aggression pact with the North's largest republican group, the IRA, and mainstream Loyalist paramilitary groups.
The INLA declared a ceasefire on August 22 last year after a bloody campaign of violence, which saw several feuds within the organisation. Before its ceasefire was called, its members carried out the murder of one of the main Loyalist paramilitary leaders, Billy Wright, in the Maze Prison in December 1997.
There was also a cautious response from Unionist politicians. DUP Justice Spokesman, Ian Paisley Junior, said that he was distinctly underwhelmed by the report. He described it as a meaningless charade by the INLA to protect and take the spotlight away from what their fellow Republicans the IRA have done. He said that the IRA and its political wing, Sinn Féin, is under immense pressure over the killing of Charles Bennett and arms smuggling from the United States. He added that the IRA has no ceasefire and that the Government should admit this in the wake of the murder of Charles Bennett.
