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13-09-2005 Scotsman Hain to move against UVF over role in riots By Gethin Chamberlain Chief News Correspondent ONE of two loyalist paramilitary organisations blamed for orchestrating the worst rioting in Northern Ireland for a decade has breached its ceasefire, the government will rule this week. As Protestant demonstrators yesterday geared up for a third night of confrontation, Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary, was preparing to "specify" the Ulster Volunteer Force after watching video footage of the rioting and receiving a report on the UVF's activities from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), which advises on the ceasefire. Mr Hain was briefed by the chief constable of Northern Ireland, Sir Hugh Orde, on the identity of the ringleaders and saw for himself pictures of gunmen firing on police and soldiers. Some of the pictures showed members of the Orange Order removing their insignia and throwing stones at police. The secretary of state is expected to announce his decision later this week. Sources in the Northern Ireland office said he had been minded to declare the UVF ceasefire over after reading the IMC report - which detailed the UVF's murderous feud with the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force - but the weekend violence was the final straw. Yesterday, after viewing the video footage, Mr Hain said: "The evidence I have seen this morning is absolutely clear-cut. If it wasn't clear-cut before, it's absolutely categorical now. I will be making an announcement in the next few days." The concept of specifying organisations was introduced in 1998 as part of the arrangements for the early release of political prisoners. If, as expected, the UVF is specified, its prisoners will no longer be eligible for early release and any members currently out on licence could be recalled to prison if they are found to have taken part in the latest violence. Sources in the Northern Ireland office said that the main aim of specifying an organisation was to send out a political message that it had overstepped the mark. Privately there has been some sympathy among ministers for the frustrations of the loyalist community with the length of time it is taking the IRA to act on its pledge to decommission its weapons. But there has also been anger at the level of the violence witnessed over the weekend. One source said: "It is pure gangsterism. This is not just political action - taking JCBs and taking cash machines out of walls is gangsterism, pure and simple." More trouble was brewing yesterday evening as Protestant hardliners blocked roads all over Belfast in the rush hour, causing massive traffic jams, and threatened more rioting. Thousands of Protestant men, women and children staged sit-down protests on the main roads running through the city and scores of other roads and intersections. Many Belfast shops and businesses closed early in fear that the illegal blockades would degenerate into attacks on police. Another 18 police officers were injured in further violence on Sunday night and yesterday morning, bringing the total to 50 over the weekend. Crowds of masked men and youths confronted police backed by troops in dozens of Protestant districts in Belfast and other towns. Gunmen fired on police and soldiers in at least two parts of Belfast on Sunday night, but nobody was hit. The chief constable has accused the Orange Order of inspiring the riots, which began on Saturday when police prevented Orangemen from parading near a Catholic part of west Belfast. But the senior Orangeman in Belfast, County Grandmaster Dawson Bailie, yesterday refused to condemn the rioters. "As far as I am concerned, the people to blame are the secretary of state, the chief constable and the Parades Commission," he said, referring to the organisation which ruled that the march should not go ahead.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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