still possible in the province despite "the historic peace statement" by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and it urged its members "to continue praying for genuine peace." Although the IRA said last week its leadership ordered members to disarm and end the 35-year long violent campaign against British rule, there are still fears that violence and criminality will continue under another name, said the EANI, a platform of evangelical Christians in the area.
"It is wrong that for many years the IRA and other paramilitary groups have held their local communities in the grip of terror. Therefore any instruction from the IRA leadership to its members ordering them to cease their armed campaign should be given a cautious welcome," said EANI General Secretary Stephen Cave in a statement to BosNewsLife.
PAINFUL HISTORY
"As we have learnt painfully from the history of the ‘Troubles’, words on their own are not enough. To be accepted by those who have consistently said that violence, criminality and paramilitarism are intolerable this statement must be accompanied by visible and verifiable action," he added.
He stressed that the IRA announcement "must not be used to excuse the low-level criminality which continues to permeate our society on all sides."
Cave said the "restoration of trust, honesty and integrity to the political process is the responsibility of all political parties in Northern Ireland and both the British and Irish governments."
PRAYERS URGED
He urged the evangelical community, "many of whom are included in those who have suffered over the past 35 years," to persist "in prayer for Northern Ireland and its leaders and
to continue to be agents of hope, truth and love in our society."
Despite concern among Christians in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has praised what he called "a step of unparalleled magnitude" by the IRA. Leaders in Ireland and the United States also heralded the announcement as "historic."
3,650 persons are estimated to have been killed in the conflict over this British territory since 1969 when the modern "Provisional" IRA was founded in Belfast with the aim of abolishing Northern Ireland as a predominantly Protestant corner of the United Kingdom. (With Stefan J. Bos and BosNewsLife Research)
