Sir, The media coverage of the arms decommissioning issue is very one sided and has failed to reveal the full picture. Mention the word decommissioning, and what do most people think off IRA arms, of course. The following are just three examples of the media failure to examine and highlight the arms issue in full
(1) Ian Paisley said on RTE
radio (December 4th) that some of the 100,000 plus legally held weapons in unionist hands would be used to "resist any move towards a united Ireland". The interviewer questioned Dr Paisley as to what he meant, and he replied that he and his supporters would "fight to the death".
Here was a clear statement by a politician of his intention to use violence, yet the media failed to examine or highlight it any further. If Gerry Adams had made a similar statement, the media would have been full of it for weeks.
(2) The loyalists have said that their ceasefire is conditional on there being "no threat to the union", otherwise the UVF/UFF will resume its campaign of shooting up bookies, pubs and shops in nationalist areas. When is the last time you heard loyalist spokespersons David Erwine and Gary McMichael questioned about this? I never have. If the IRA made a similar threat, we would have been made aware of it.
(3) British ministers say that British Army and RUC weapons cannot be decommissioned, and continue to trot out the line that these are "legally held weapons
In doing so, they insult the families of hundreds of people who were killed by "legal" British weapons. The reality is that "legally held weapons" have been used to kill unarmed civilians. Why have the media not questioned British ministers about these facts?
Let's hope the international commission will take a more honest view of the whole arms issue than the media have to date. Yours, etc., Knockmay, Portlaoise.