Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:

“It is no secret that the promotion of Irish is a longstanding Republican objective to undermine the Britishness of Northern Ireland. However, the central nature of an Irish Language Act to the Republican project as revealed in the Provo bible, the Green Book, has until now been overlooked in the discussion.

“As well as being a manual for terrorism, including details on subjects like anti-interrogation techniques, the Green Book outlines the IRA’s political objectives. In a section dealing with the government the IRA aim to establish across the island of Ireland it says:

“Culturally we would hope to restore Gaelic, not from the motivation of national chauvinism but from the viewpoint of achieving with the aid of a cultural revival the distinctive new Irish Socialist State: as a Bulwark against imperialist encroachments from whatever quarter.”

“How clearer could it be? The Irish language is a cultural weapon of the IRA aimed at making us “distinctive” from the rest of the British Isles. They want Irish to act as a “bulwark” against British identity and culture.

“Unionists who foolishly negotiate on this point are discussing the implementation of a key IRA objective designed to fundamentally change the character of Northern Ireland.

“However this is dressed up let no one be in any doubt that statutory promotion of Irish isn’t about civil rights but delivery of a key demand of the IRA. This is something they make no secret of.

“Doubtless the Army Council, which continues to “oversee both the PIRA and Sinn Fein with an overarching strategy”, will be delighted with the progress towards this objective which has been made in the talks.

“I would appeal to Unionists who foolishly have shown evidence of movement on this issue to pause and reflect on what they are about. Do they really want to go down in history as delivering a key objective spelt out so unambiguously by the IRA?”

Note to editors

You can read the IRA Green Book here.