Politics & Power Quote by Peter Hain

The phrase “credible statement” is doing more work than the rest of the sentence combined. Peter Hain isn’t asking the IRA simply to speak; he’s demanding language that can survive scrutiny from skeptics, victims’ families, unionists, and an international audience that has learned to treat Irish peace-process milestones with cautious suspicion. “Credible” implies verification, enforcement, and a willingness to be judged against future behavior. It’s an invitation and a warning folded into one adjective.

Hain’s intent is transactional: words as a down payment for political legitimacy. In post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland, renouncing violence wasn’t just a moral pivot; it was a prerequisite for full participation in democratic institutions. His line sets the bar in a way that closes escape hatches. He doesn’t only name “paramilitary” activity - the obvious concern - but pairs it with “criminality,” a nod to the persistent allegation that organized crime, smuggling, and intimidation can outlive the politics that once rationalized them. That coupling signals to the IRA: you don’t get to retire the rhetoric while keeping the infrastructure.

The subtext is audience management. Hain is speaking to the IRA, but also to everyone else who needs to believe the state is not being naive. “A thing of the past” draws a hard boundary between history and the acceptable present, while “exclusively peaceful and democratic” is intentionally absolutist. Not “mostly,” not “strategically,” not “for now.” He’s defining the only future that counts as progress: one with no armed wing, no shadow economy, no plausible deniability.