Loyalists Up Sectarian Tension

Saturday May 24, 2003 19:12

by Hebe

Nationalists in north Belfast have been warned to be extra vigilant after an increase in loyalist surveillance activities in the area.

Nationalists in north Belfast have been warned to be extra vigilant after
an increase in loyalist surveillance activities in the area.

The chilling warning comes after both Sinn Fein and IRSP members received a
spate of death threats from the UDA. Every Sinn Féin councillor in the
Oldpark area has received at least two death threats over the past 12
months while four north Belfast members of the IRSP have also been given
warning their lives are in danger.

The heightening of the latest loyalist threats follows a statement from the
UDA warning that if leading North Belfast UDA man Andre Shoukri was
targeted the terror gang would retaliate by murdering ten Catholics.

The IRSP has called on all residents of north Belfast, and particularly
those in the Ardoyne area, to be extra vigilant after a car carrying three
well-known loyalist paramilitaries was seen circling nationalist
communities around the Oldpark Road.

"Over the past two weeks concerned residents have pointed out the same car
driving around the Brompton Park, Manor Street, and Summer Street area,"
said an IRSP spokesperson.

"It is the same people in the same car driving along the same route time
and time again. It is an extremely worrying development.

"We would call on all our members and residents living in these areas to be
extra vigilant. It seems that an attack on nationalists is imminent."

Sinn Féin Oldpark Councillor Margaret McClenaghan echoed the call for
vigilance while calling on unionist politicans and representatives to
properly address the threats.

"Clearly this information indicates that loyalist paramilitary groups are
active in the Ardoyne area," she said.

"I myself have received two death threats over the past year from loyalist
paramilitaries and I am urging people to be extra vigilant.

"However I also want to know what the PUP and UPRG have to say about these
threats. And again, what are they going to do to instill calm in this area
over the coming summer months?"

A spokesperson for the PSNI said they would not discuss the personal
security of individuals, adding; "If we were to receive information that
someone needs to review their personal security we would take steps to
inform them. We never ever ignore anything that would harm someone or put
them at risk."

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Comments (3 of 3)

don't play into blair's hands

by rasta never fail i

Sat May 24, 2003 22:54

Loyalists are allegedly surveilling catholic areas, because someone told them republicans were allegedly stalking Andren Shoukri. I can't understand why republicans would be stalking Andre, this seems very strange.
In the past before the IRA ceasefire, Andre got into a pub brawl, which resulted in the death of a catholic tennis player. Andre did not intentionally set out to murder this man, Andre did not get a gun and target this man, what happened occured during the course of a pub brawl, in which Andre who does kickboxing fought in a one to one unarmed fair fight with his victim and unfortunately the man hit his head on a kerb stone and was seriously injured. We've all been in similar situations at some point or other in our lives, but luckily noone is usually seriously hurt.
There is a clear difference between this and actively acquiring weapons with premeditation to go out and cold bloodedly shoot someone. If a person such as the likes of Johnny adair goes out with a gun with the intention of shooting an unarmed catholic person, this is clearly unfair, sectarian and nasty. This is not the way Andre operates.
At the moment the UDA is actively trying to reform and disassociate itself with the ultra right wing neo nazi mad dog extremist element such as Johnny adair and coco, they should be given a chance to do this. With the political vacuum left by blair suspending the GFA, the UPRG is left in a very difficult position, trying to pull its people back from extremism. Any eruption of sectarian violence would embarass the loyalist people who've worked hard to quell sectarian tension and who've died to stop people like mad dog Adair running amok destroying our reputation in the eyes of the world. Working class loyalist people fought to stamp out Adair's sickening brutal murderous regieme. We don't need more Johnny adair like government agent scumbags be they dissident republican or loyalist starting trouble and kicking the whole sectarian tit for tat thing off again.
If the british government and its lackeys are not prepared to work the peace process, we the working class people of northern ireland, who have suffered and lost the most through the troubles, must be prepared to work the peace process amongst ourselves, amongst our own working class loyalist and republican communities in order to show the british government up. The establishment rich snobby bigwig politicians may not want to work the GFA, but we the working class people of ulster do want to make it work and we can live in peace, without the interference and approval of outsiders and whitehall overlords. I have no problem with dissident republicans who want to use the tactic of bomb scares and economic disruption in the city centre, because their campaign is not sectarian, it is designed to disrupt and target the big business stratus of our society who are economically connected to the likes of the brit establishment who took away our democratic right to vote. Dissident republicans are hitting the government where it hurts in their pockets as long as they continue to do this, and do not decide to branch out into sectarian targeting of loyalists, we all may be able to enjoy a relatively peaceful summer without all hell breaking loose.

dogs in the street

by Agnes

Sat May 24, 2003 23:31

The british government would like to see Northern Ireland plunged back into the sectarian turmoil of the past. Those who were close to Johnny Adair watched as he was allowed to get away with murder literally, because the british government wanted him to provoke republicans into breaking their ceasefire, whereby then the british governemnt and establishment unionists could kick republicans out of stormont and throw out the GFA with them. As it happened republicans were set up and kicked out anyway, because lickle davy trimble and the brits had no intention of implementing the GFA fully. Still the provies have kept their ceasefire despite all manner of provocation.

Now summer is coming, with the marching season in tow, extremist loyalist elements such as the DUP will be stirring up sectarian strife, untill this spills over into sectarian interface violence, we need the UPRG's calming influence, and if elections had taken place the UPRG would have been in a position to represent their people without blindly encouraging intercommunal violence.

The UPRG are people who live in these areas at street level and they know best how to protect and prevent their people/neighbours from getting into trouble and destroying each others properties, amenities and how to preserve everyday calm and quality of life for working class communities on both sides of the interface. Don't forget the likes of Ian paisley doesn't have to live on an interface, or in a constant state of community upheaval, so he can afford to encourage sectarian conflict and hate, but working class protestants actually have to live in these communities, and have to live through riot situations and watch family members getting arrested and injured through interface sectarian conflict.

We would like a peaceful summer as the rich on the malone rd always enjoy a peaceful summer, and for a change to not have to worry about our working class children getting caught up in rioting and sectarian violence, its ok for paisley he can get jet off to his ranch in the US when things heat up, but we're stuck here.

by HEBE

Mon May 26, 2003 10:56

Great article.... shame that it's only Indymedia that highlight these developments

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Loyalists Up Sectarian Tension

Comments (3 of 3)