Irish Republican Army graffiti adorns a wall in West Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In a hardline statement released Feb. 2, the IRA sternly rejected British and Irish government criticisms that the outlawed group was committing major crimes and primarily to blame for the worsening impasse. But the IRA did pledge to stick to its 1997 cease-fire.

The IRA had offered in December to disarm fully as part of a wider deal to revive a Catholic-Protestant administration in Northern Ireland involving Sinn Fein, the IRA-linked party that represents most of the North's Catholics. The potential deal failed when the IRA refused to permit photos to be taken of its disarmament, a key Protestant demand.

Since then, hopes of sealing the deal have been destroyed by the Dec. 20 robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast, when a hostage-taking gang stole $50 million, the biggest cash robbery in history. Police chiefs blamed the IRA but the IRA denies involvement.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 12, 2005
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