The Government must demand that the IRA's top membership signs up to a deal to decommission weapons and end paramilitary and criminal actions, Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte has said.
Urging the Government not to accept "a weasel-worded fudge" from the IRA, he said he was disturbed by reports that an IRA convention may be held to ratify the statement expected in the coming days, or weeks.
Though official comment from the Government is lacking, senior figures have been told by Sinn Féin that a statement is several more weeks away, and that it would be better not to hold a convention. The holding of such a gathering could see up to 10 per cent of senior IRA figures quitting the organisation, Martin McGuinness has argued.
Up to now, the Government has insisted that there must be no ambiguity in the IRA's statement, though there are some signals from senior figures speaking privately that they accept the McGuinness argument to some extent, at least.
In April Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams appealed directly to the IRA membership and those who make up its convention, the element of the organisation with the power to change its constitution.
The lack of such ratification, said the Labour Party leader, would mean that the republican movement is embarking on a new strategy, which he dubbed Tuas Mark 2 (the Tactical Use of Armed Struggle), that would be "shrouded in obscurity and obfuscation".
