The IRA's training of Marxist rebels in Colombia led to the deaths of dozens of civilians, Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble has claimed today.
The Ulster Unionist leader's comments came during a bitter attack on Sinn Féin at the Stormont Assembly, contrasting overseas trips by himself and Deputy First Minister Mark Durkan with visits by senior republicans to territory controlled by the guerilla group FARC.
Three suspected Provisional IRA men were detained in Colombia last August and are awaiting trial accused of training terrorists in south America.
Replying to a question from Sinn Féin's Mr John Kelly, suggesting that the frequency of visits were holding back the business of the power-sharing executive in Belfast, Mr Trimble accused republicans of training FARC members in bomb-making techniques.
He declared: "I am quite satisfied that the visits the Deputy First Minister and myself acting jointly, and indeed our individual visits, have been visits that were made for the benefit of Northern Ireland.
"I must say they are in very stark contrast to the behaviour of the questioner's colleagues, particularly with regard to Colombia where their activities last weekend saw the death of over 60 people sheltering in a church as the result of what Colombians called Irish gas cylinders that were discharged at them.
"I would have thought that the member would have a little bit of concern about his own moral responsibility for being associated with a movement which produced those horrific results."
Mr Niall Connolly, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Martin McCauley are currently awaiting trial in Bogota on charges of training FARC guerillas in the use of explosives.
Mr Trimble has met representatives of the US, British and Irish governments to warn them of a growing crisis in the peace process because of the arrests.
Sinn Féin described his attack as "disgraceful".
Outside the Assembly, Mr Kelly said: "I'm very disappointed that David Trimble should resort to throwing up such unsubstantiated gibberish when the real issue is that the Executive is getting bogged down.
"The Office of First and Deputy First Minister appears to be a black hole from which very little emerges as a direct consequence of David Trimble's globetrotting which has little to do with the Irish peace process and much more to do with his not inconsiderable ego," he said.
In reply to Mr Kelly's original question, Mr Trimble said that in the last six months he and Mr Durkan had made seven joint visits.
In addition Mr Trimble has taken 10 trips on his own to Mr Durkan's seven.