By Brendan Anderson

THE IRA has kept its command structure but “is not engaged in terrorist activity,” according to the latest report of a body set up to monitor the Republican and Loyalist ceasefires.

In the latest of its periodical reports, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) said the IRA was “firmly committed to following a political path.”

The four-member group said the IRA, by retaining its command and control structure, was helping rather than hindering the political process and was keeping the organization on its chosen path towards peace.

The report said senior members of the IRA had switched to political work inside Sinn Fein or community work and were encouraging other volunteers to do likewise.

“It is not engaged in terrorist activity, by which we mean undertaking attacks, planning or reconnoitering them, or developing a terrorist capability by, for example, procuring weapons or training members.

“The leadership is opposed to the use of violence in community control, has taken a stance against criminality and disorder amongst the membership and has been engaged in successful dialogue to prevent violence during the 2006 parades season,” it said.

Dissident Republicans, the IMC report said, were still engaged in paramilitary activity and apparently they wished to retain their capability to do so. The dissidents “continued to pose the most significant threat” to security forces in the North.

“It remains the case, however, that they have been hampered in what they do, both by their limited expertise and capacity and by the continuing efforts of law enforcement agencies North and South,” the IMC said.

On demilitarization, the report said the remaining watchtowers in south Armagh had been dismantled and soldiers withdrawn from another two police/army barracks. Troop levels had also been further reduced.

Loyalist paramilitary groups remained involved in violence “but they did not pose an active threat to the security forces,” according to the report. However, it praised Loyalist leaders for contributing to a quiet marching season, claiming “some appeared committed to ending criminality among their members.”

Attempts to tackle criminality had been “more evident” in the case of the Ulster Defense Association than the Ulster Volunteer Force and “may reflect a positive strategic decision.”

“The UVF refusal to clarify its position in advance of November 24 2006 (the date of a British-Irish governmental deadline for political agreement) remains a worry, not least in view of their refusal to decommission arms or in other ways to reduce their capability to revert to terrorism,” the IMC said. President George W. Bush’s envoy on Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, welcomed the report’s findings.

“We note in particular the report’s conclusion that the IRA is firmly committed to following a political path, is not engaged in terrorist activity and has taken a stance against criminality.

“We are concerned, however, about the report’s findings that dissident Republicans pose a significant security threat and that some Loyalist paramilitaries continue to engage in violence,” he said.