Irish Northern Aid
News
 |
||||
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8301241.stm
An Irish republican paramilitary group responsible for dozens of murders during Northern Ireland's Troubles has renounced violence.
The Irish National Liberation Army said its "armed struggle is over".
The INLA said it would pursue its objectives from now on by "exclusively peaceful political struggle".
Its statement did not mention weapons decommissioning, but it is understood talks have begun and the government hopes the process will begin in months.
A small group which proved itself to be ruthless during the Troubles, it has been on ceasefire for 11 years.
The statement was issued through its political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, at an event in Bray, County Wicklow on Sunday.
"The republican socialist movement has been informed by the INLA that following a process of serious debate, consultation and analysis, it has concluded that the armed struggle is over," it said.
An INLA Spokesman announces "War is Over"
Political reaction
"The objective of a 32-county socialist republic will be best achieved through exclusively peaceful political struggle."
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said he welcomed the INLA's statement but "it is essential that words are matched to deeds".
Mr Woodward urged the INLA to destroy its weapons before the deadline in February when the decommissioning body is due to be wound up.
Established in 1975, many of its recruits were former members of the Official IRA.
They murdered Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman Airey Neave in 1979 by leaving a bomb under his car at Westminster.
The organisation was also responsible for one of Northern Ireland's worst atrocities.
In 1982 it killed 17 people in a bomb attack on the Droppin' Well pub in Ballykelly, County Londonderry.
The INLA also murdered loyalist LVF leader Billy Wright at the Maze prison.
Three members of the INLA died in the jail while on hunger strike in the 1980s.
Despite being on ceasefire since 1998, it has carried out a number of shootings and engaged in a wide range of criminal activity.
The INLA was mainly involved in organised crime in recent years
The group has regularly indulged in bouts of bloody infighting.
In February this year, the INLA claimed responsibility for the murder of a drug dealer in Londonderry.
It is mainly involved in organised crime, such as extortion and robbery.
Last year police investigating the INLA and associates in County Londonderry seized controlled drugs with an estimated value of £10,000.
The INLA has been talking to intermediaries representing the British and Irish governments for several months.
The group is also believed to be engaged in talks with the head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, General John de Chastelain about putting its weapons beyond use.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jmrGA5Fr4NK8yU4rYTYQhBIyNRxQ
Republican paramilitaries who have announced an end to a 35 year campaign of violence in Northern Ireland must now decommission their weapons, the Government has said.
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), which is responsible for some of the most infamous attacks of the Troubles, used a graveside oration outside Dublin to confirm that its "armed struggle is over".
But there was uncertainty over whether or not the group, which has killed more than 100 people, was prepared to decommission its illegal arsenal of weapons, after the statement read to supporters at the republican commemoration failed to promise a disposal of arms.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8301536.stm
Politicians and commentators in Northern Ireland give their reaction to the news that the INLA is renouncing violence.
It is expected that the Irish National Liberation Army will say in future it will pursue exclusively peaceful means at a commemoration near Dublin.
SHAUN WOODWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE
"We should welcome today's statement in which the INLA have stated their intention to now adopt only exclusively peaceful political means.
"However, as we have made very clear to every paramilitary organisation, while we may welcome the renunciation of violence it is essential that words are matched to deeds.
"I would urge the INLA to decommission their weapons before the decommissioning deadline in February."
GERRY ADAMS, SINN FEIN PRESIDENT
"Given the history of the INLA there will undoubtedly be some scepticism about today's statement.
"However, if it is followed by the actions that are necessary, this is a welcome development.
"I would appeal to all groups to follow the will of the Irish people. This means pursuing political objectives by purely peaceful and democratic methods."
ALASDAIR MCDONNELL, SDLP DEPUTY LEADER
"Slowly but surely we are putting the horrors of the past 40 years behind us.
"I detect as I go about my business on the streets of Belfast the steady movement of people of all persuasions towards peace and towards total opposition to violence of any sort.
"The vast majority of people want a life and a livelihood for their families and they expect their political leaders to do all they can to ensure that that life and livelihood is available to them."
SIR REG EMPEY, ULSTER UNIONIST LEADER
"I welcome reports that the INLA is to renounce violence and deal with their weapons via General de Chastelain.
"This is long over due, but given the current rise in Real IRA activity it is important that a group that has been involved in terrorism for so many years now realises the futility of continuing down that road.
"I hope as a result, that those contemplating a career in terrorism will pay attention to those who wasted their lives in a futile INLA campaign and recognise that they are being led into a cul-de-sac by believing that the Real IRA can succeed where all other republican groups have failed."
GREGORY CAMPBELL, DUP MP
"It has taken a very long time for the INLA to come to terms with the fact that murder cannot be a means to advance a political agenda. Just as the Provisional IRA had to learn this, so hopefully will they.
"Two lessons need to be learnt from this development, the first is the hope that it will not take these latter day converts to democracy as long as it took the political apologists of the Provisionals to understand that once embarking on the democratic road it has to be obvious to all that they are actually on it and by no words or actions should they offer credence to cynics who believe that the route is just a temporary diversion.
"The second lesson is that no inducement, bartering or offering of concessions must be any part of this move."
DAVID FORD, ALLIANCE PARTY LEADER
"The INLA must decommission and disappear immediately.
"People are sick of hearing grand statements from terrorist organisations, only to see them subsequently take a long time to decommission.
"This must signal the end for the INLA, not the start of some kind of protracted process designed to gain publicity.
"My thoughts are with the victims and survivors who suffered at the hands of this group."
EAMONN MALLIE, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST
"There's a realisation that every organisation has its day.
"Effectively the whole landscape has changed so dramatically on the island of Ireland in terms of where we are, in terms of the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement, the St Andrews Agreement etcetera, so I suspect this organisation feels that it has run its course."
REVEREND HAROLD GOOD, CLERGYMAN WHO WITNESSED IRA DECOMMISSIONING
"I think it's very significant - we've been waiting for a long time for these splinter groups of the republican movement to come on board and to follow the example of mainstream republicanism, so it's very good news indeed.
"Much too late for some people, some would say - there are many people today for whom this will be a reminder of their pain and their sadness and their suffering and their hurt and their pain.
"However, it is extremely good news because it's saying that people are now accepting the fact that violence has no part to play in Irish politics and that we must move on well beyond that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8301276.stm
A deal on policing in Northern Ireland is "within reach", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
Speaking at a meeting in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, she said the devolution of justice powers was an "essential milestone".
She had earlier met Gordon Brown at Chequers and has arrived in Belfast for more talks as part of a tour of Europe.
Her visit came as the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a republican paramilitary group, renounced violence.
The group, which was responsible for dozens of murders during Northern Ireland's Troubles, issued a statement saying its "armed struggle is over".
Mrs Clinton said: "The step of devolution for policing and justice is an absolutely essential milestone.
The visit to Stormont may turn out to be one of the easiest stages of the five-day European tour by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
The curse of foreign diplomacy is arriving in a country and constantly needing ministerial aides to whisper in your ear the names of leading politicians. Mrs Clinton will not have that problem in Northern Ireland.
She has been to Stormont so often - as First lady, Senator and now as Secretary of State - that she is on first name terms with most of the key players. Indeed, she probably knows their spouses' names too.
Resolving the differences between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists may need more than some high-powered American charm and gentle words of persuasion.
Mind you, the indomitable Mrs Clinton will try her best.
"Clearly there are questions and some apprehensions, but I believe that due to the concerted effort of the British government, Irish government and support of friends like us in the US, that the parties understand this is a step they must take together.
"It will take the leaders of both communities working together to continue not only the devolution but then to make day-to-day governing a reality, and I'm confident that that is within reach."
BBC Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson said Mrs Clinton's visit had already had an influence in Belfast even before she arrived.
He said: "The political atmosphere has improved and up at Stormont the gap between the parties, which was very wide, has narrowed a little - there has been progress made in recent days.
"It's a little like if there's a family row going on and you know there's a very important group of visitors coming, you try to patch up your differences."
Sinn Fein and the DUP have been at loggerheads over when powers for policing in Northern Ireland should be devolved from London.
'Incredible courage'
The former party says it should have already happened, while the latter has been more cautious, saying it will only assent to devolution with an adequate financial package in place and broad community confidence.
Speaking in London, where she met British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Mrs Clinton said a rise in dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland was "out of step" with the peace process.
It was "imperative" the Good Friday Agreement was "seen all the way to conclusion", she added.
Those who would try to disrupt the peace of people going about their daily lives are out of step and out of time
At a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mrs Clinton restated her faith in the US-UK "special relationship".
The situation in Northern Ireland, the Afghan war, concerns over Iran's nuclear programme and climate change were said to be on the agenda at Chequers.
The two politicians also discussed the current situation in Pakistan and India.
During her visit to the UK, Mrs Clinton also spoke of her admiration for the "incredible courage and commitment" of British troops in Afghanistan.
Mr Miliband paid tribute to Mrs Clinton's "personal commitment" to the peace process in Northern Ireland for more than 15 years.
Mrs Clinton said: "Those who would try to disrupt the peace of people going about their daily lives are out of step and out of time."
Asked about the potential that financial support was being provided by US sympathisers, she added: "There is no support... the best we can tell is that those who try to inflict harm on others and cause damage are funding their evil enterprise from criminal gains and we hope to see an end to all of that."
Police have recently begun an operation aimed at disrupting what is seen as increased dissident republican activity this year.
Mr Brown recently held a series of meetings with Sinn Fein and the DUP on the timing of the transfer.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/claims-mi5-plotted-to-blow-up-sinn-fin-hq-14528142.html
Sunday, 11 October 2009
The British Security Services plotted to blow up Sinn Fein's Dublin headquarters during the height of the Troubles, a former undercover police officer claimed today.
An IRA informer was asked to place the bomb in the offices on Kevin Street in the summer of 1971, according to George Clarke, a retired Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch Detective Sergeant.
Mr. Clarke said he was told by MI5 to offer his republican mole £500 to leave the explosives in the property on a Friday night.
It was to detonate the next morning when it was known a number of high profile IRA men visited the office to pick up weekly payments from party funds.
The counter-terrorism officer, who left the police more than 20 years ago, said the security services eventually decided not to go through with the attack, but not before he had put the proposition to his source.
A spokesman for the UK Home Office said the Security Services did not comment on past intelligence operations.
http://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/10/10/629718_396544758525OfficialI.html
By Barry McCaffrey
10/10/09
The Official IRA has begun decommissioning talks with General John de Chastelain, security sour-ces confirmed last night.
Although the group has been on ceasefire for more than 37 years, it is understood never to have given up weapons.
This summer General de Chastelain announced that the UVF had put all its weapons beyond use and the UDA had committed to destroying its arsenal by the British government’s deadline in February.
The Provisional IRA completed its decommissioning in 2005.
However, it has now emerged that the Official IRA has begun talks with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), led by General de Chastelain.
The Official IRA emerged from a split in the IRA at the start of the Troubles. It was responsible for 52 killings.
Although they called an end to their ‘armed struggle’ in 1972, the ‘Officials’ are thought to have stored dozens of rifles and handguns in secret arms dumps.
The group has sporadically used weapons during internal republican disputes or for so-called punishment attacks.
In 1997 it was blamed for shooting two Sinn Fein members during a dispute with the Provisional IRA in Newry.
In April 2001 it was accused after a gun attack on a sweet shop in west Belfast.
Four years later the Official IRA was blamed for shooting a teenager in the legs and hand in the lower Falls area of west Belfast after he was alleged to have been involved in a dispute with a leading member of the organisation.
A paramilitary-style attack in west Belfast the following year left an 18-year-old with serious head injuries.
The Official IRA has also been accused of criminal activity.
In October 2005 the organisation’s former leader, Sean Garland, was arrested at a Workers Party conference in Belfast after the FBI asked for his extradition to the US for questioning about a multimillion-dollar international counterfeiting operation.
He was released on bail for medical treatment in the Republic but failed to reappear in court.
The Officials’ decision to begin talks with the IICD has caused some surprise, as the group had never been mentioned in any of the commission’s 19 reports.
An IICD spokesman last night refused to confirm or deny that the commission was in discussions with the Official IRA.
“IICD doesn’t comment on its work,” he said.
“However, the IICD is to open to all organisations on ceasefire until the end of its mandate next February.”
The British government has insisted that it will not extend the deadline.
It is understood that General de Chastelain will return to Northern Ireland next week.
When contacted last night, John Lowry of the Workers Party, which had links to the Official IRA, said he was unaware of any decommissioning talks.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Orange-group-issues-message-of.5722110.jp
Published Date: 10 October 2009
THE traditionalist Orange Order movement whose members have been threatened with suspension from the Order has defied the Orange leadership, vowing to continue with its public meetings.
Last month the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland ruled that membership of Orange Reformation, an evangelical Christian group attempting to "put Protestantism back into Orangeism", was incompatible with Orange
rules.
And on Wednesday, the News Letter revealed that the Rev Stephen Dickinson, an Orange Grand Chaplain and one of the senior figures in
Orange Reformation, has been threatened with suspension from the Order
Reverend Stephen Dickinson
However, the Order yesterday moved to clarify that the letter from Grand Master Robert Saulters to the Rev Dickinson was not specifically about Orange Reformation, but rather about speaking to the media without clearance.
"The letter from the Grand Master to the Rev Stephen Dickinson was not about Orange Reformation," an Orange spokesman said.
"It was, in fact, pointing out that unauthorised comment to the media was contrary to the rules of the institution.
"It would be a lot better if some members of the Orange Order put forward their arguments in private within Grand Lodge rather than airing them in the public eye."
Stressing its Christian ethos, a statement from the Orange Reformation committee said that it was "disgusted" at the Order's "attempts to silence and crush" it.
"Orange Reformation will continue to give leadership, even if we are suspended or expelled from the institution – and all brethren are welcome to come to our information evenings to hear the facts for themselves," the group said.
"We fail to see how a group that exists to underpin the Protestant basis of the Orange institution, to call brethren back to the principles of the Protestant faith and a group that has established a network of prayer triplets to seek God's blessing on the Orange institution could be seen in any way as a threat to anyone."
And, accusing the Orange leadership of attempting to stifle free speech, it claimed it was inconsistent for its members to be threatened with suspension or expulsion when Orange members who have broken other rules are not disciplined.
It said that Orangemen who met with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams as well as senior Orangemen who "are breaking the rules by offering to meet the Parades Commission" were not being punished.
"Grand Lodge threatening to suspend brethren for attending Orange Reformation information evenings smacks of dictatorship.
What about civil and religious liberties for all?"
It is unclear how much support there is withinthe Order for the group, which last month held its first public meeting in Ballymena.
One Orange source claimed that it was a "very small group of people who make an awful lot of noise".
The source claimed: "Only about 50 or 60 people actually attended their first meeting and about 20 of those were people who went along to see what was happening and do not support the reformation group."
Updated: 11/5/2009
Use the Guest Book to Comment on the web site or individual stories.
To get Irish News updates emailed to you
