Sir - As the deadline for arms decommissioning draws near, it is again worth considering the sentiments of Michael Oatley, a former M16 officer who held secret talks with the IRA leadership that led to the 1975 ceasefire and, 16 years later, produced the first moves in the peace process.
Oatley provided an explanation for the reluctance of the IRA to start decommissioning. Firstly, weapons and caches are widely dispersed under the control of local cells. IRA volunteers are not sheep and they joined the organisation to pursue an armed campaign for agreed objectives, which were modified.
As Oatley pointed out, Republican discipline in the face of such changes has been remarkable. Sinn Fein has convinced its supporters to accept new policies - acceptance of which takes time to spread - while unionists have continued to project decommissioning as the central issue in the peace process.
Handing over arms was never a pre-condition of the Good Friday Agreement; rather, it was to have been a consequence of the pact. The unilateral declaration of a ceasefire should be enough to sustain the Northern Executive until tangible changes are implemented and fears of false promises laid to rest - Yours, etc.,
Michael Cullen, Albert Park, Sandycove, Co Dublin.