No, republicans never conveyed the impression that if David Trimble moved on government, the IRA would move on guns. It was about making politics work, not guns, says Mitchel McLaughlin. Among a considerable portion of the body politic, there was at the very least a strong perception, and even an expectation, that some movement on IRA arms would follow the creation of an executive. If there was such a perception, republicans did not create it, McLaughlin says, they stood by the agreement. He says journalists who do not see this distinction are ill-informed.
Politicians now seem to be scrambling in the dark.
There is a sense they are going through the motions but privately believing that the position is generally hopeless. He presents a bleak analysis but says all is not yet lost. The IRA called a ceasefire and honoured it. That was what they were asked to do, to provide space for the politicians. What was bolted on to that was a demand that they surrender their guns.