THE Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd Alan Harper, said on Monday that the announcement by the UDA that the UFF is to stand down, and that weaponry will be put beyond use, is to be welcomed as an important step in the normalisation of society in Loyalist areas.
He added a note of caution, however: “I note that the UDA has announced that it is not ready for the surrendering of weapons, and that reference has been made to a continuing lack of confidence within Loyalism. The recognition that ‘the war is over’ is an important de-
claration which should give some confidence to Nationalists and Republicans. “What is now necessary is a continuation of confidence-building measures in Loyalist areas to ensure that not only is weaponry unacceptable, but that there is a clear understanding that its retention is unnecessary.”
Implicit in the Archbishop’s statement are reservations about how the UDA can achieve a transition to peace. The question how a resumption of hostilities can be prevented in an organisation with no centralised command structure
is asked by many.
The fact that the UDA has yet to engage in any meaningful way with the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) of General de Chastelain has not inspired confidence in the wider community.
Archbishop Harper’s call for help for deprived Loyalist areas is being seen by some as a plea to politicians to provide incentives, including the funding for projects worth millions of pounds announced by the former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain. This funding was under threat of withdrawal in recent weeks
because of evidence of continuing criminality within the UDA.
Nationalist reaction to the UDA’s announcement came from the Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Martin McGuinness, a former IRA leader and now MP for Mid Ulster. Mr McGuinness said he was prepared to welcome the UDA statement — up to a point. “This organisation has been involved in drug dealing, in other criminal activities, in racist attacks on newcomers to our community. All that has to be stopped.”
On Remembrance Sunday, at St Macartan’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, the Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd Michael Jackson, called for an apology from the IRA terrorists who murdered ten people and injured many others in the bomb at the cenotaph 20 years earlier.
“The callous premeditation of those who planted the bomb, their failure ever to acknowledge in any meaningful way what they did or who they are, casts a cloud over every effort of good people to build up trust in our divided and anxious community,” he said.
“We remember the tireless and committed work of people who tried in any way they could to help: members of the security, fire, and emergency forces; members of the general public; medical and nursing personnel; and all who, right up until today, help people to carry the burden of suffering, loss, and incomprehension.”
|
back to News
previous story
|
next story 
back to top
.gif "Caris Magazine for girls aged 11 to 16 © site")