IRA Says 'We're Sorry'

The IRA guerrilla group, under pressure to finally renounce violence, apologized Tuesday for the civilian deaths and injuries it caused during its violent 30-year campaign against British control of Northern Ireland.

In an unprecedented statement issued to Dublin-based republican newspaper "An Phoblacht," the group said it offered its "sincere apologies and condolences" to the families of the victims of three decades of conflict.

The British government quickly welcomed the statement from the outlawed organization, noting the strength of the apology, which comes at a time when the peace process forged in 1998 is under severe strain from continuing sectarian violence.

The IRA made the apology in a statement marking the anniversary of Bloody Friday, when it set off more than 20 bombs within an hour in Belfast on July 21, 1972, killing seven civilians and two soldiers.

Although the IRA has stated its regret in the past for individual acts, it has not previously issued so sweeping an apology. The statement said the step aimed to improve the atmosphere in the territory's peace process.

Pointing to Bloody Friday, the statement said that "while it was not our intention to injure or kill noncombatants, the reality is that on this and on a number of other occasions, that was the consequence of our actions."

"It is, therefore, appropriate on the anniversary of this tragic event, that we address all of the deaths and injuries of noncombatants caused by us," the statement said.

"We offer our sincere apologies and condolences to their families."

The outlawed organization also acknowledged the grief of the families of slain combatants - police, soldiers and loyalist paramilitaries.

The IRA said the future would not be found in "denying collective failures and mistakes or closing minds and hearts to the plight of those who had been hurt. That includes all of the victims of the conflict, combatants and noncombatants.

"It will not be achieved by creating a hierarchy of victims in which some are deemed more or less worthy than others," the statement said.

It also said the process of conflict resolution required the acknowledgment of the grief and loss of others.

Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid hailed what he called "a statement of unprecedented strength.

"We welcome this statement as an acknowledgment of the grief and pain suffered," he said, "but the best way to acknowledge the past pain is to make sure the people of Northern Ireland have the confidence that events like this will never happen again."

Among the more than 3,600 people killed in political-sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland since 1968, the IRA and rival anti-British groups were responsible for more than 2,000 dead. Protestant political parties have accused the IRA of repeatedly violating its 1997 cease-fire.

"On this anniversary, we are endeavoring to fulfill this responsibility to those we have hurt," the IRA said.

The statement added: "The IRA is committed unequivocally to the search for freedom, justice and peace in Ireland.

"We remain totally committed to the peace process and to dealing with the challenges and difficulties which this presents. This includes the acceptance of past mistakes and of the hurt and pain we have caused to others."

Eileen Bell of the moderate Alliance Party called the statement "a positive step toward building greater confidence in the peace process."

"An apology can never bring victims of violence back, but it is important that we all continue to make progress towards a normal society where all violence is a distant memory," she said.

But Jeffrey Donaldson of the Ulster Unionists, Northern Ireland's largest Protestant party, called the statement a "halfhearted apology."

"The statement comes very late in the day. After all it's now four years on from the agreement and several years from the IRA cease-fire and it's taken this long ... it doesn't go far enough because we need to know no more innocent people will die at the hands of the IRA," he said.

He questioned whether the IRA was committed to the peace process, pointing to accusations that it was involved in recent shootings and street violence and has helped guerrillas in Colombia.

The IRA has denied all these allegations.

"What we need to know is that there will be no more innocent people who will die at the hands of the IRA, either in Northern Ireland or elsewhere," Donaldson told RTE, the Irish broadcast network.