Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LOYALISTS PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO LAW
Terror groups vow to reject criminality Churchmen share stage with gang chiefs
LOYALIST terror groups yesterday announced a “Declaration of Transformation” saying criminality is “an affront to their true principles”.
UDA veteran Jackie Mcdonald and Red Hand Commando leader Jim Wilson were flanked by churchmen including Rev Harold Good, Rev Norman Hamilton and Archbishop Alan Harper for the announcement.
Archbishop Harper, a retired Anglican bishop, read a prepared statement from the Red Hand Commando, UDA and UVF at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast.
It stated: “We fully support the rule of law in all areas of life and emphatically condemn all forms of criminal activity. Individuals who use criminality to serve their own interests at the expense of loyalist communities are an affront to the true principles of loyalism.
“We reject and repudiate as unacceptable and contrary to loyalist principles any criminal action claimed to have been undertaken in our name or attributed to any individual claiming membership of one of our organisations.
“We further declare that any engagement in criminal acts by any individuals within our organisations will be regarded as placing those members outside the memberships. This has been collectively agreed. We cannot allow criminals to hinder transformation and the ground on which such people stand is now shrinking.”
The statement added they “seek to make an important contribution to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Northern Ireland”. Mcdonald defended the statement against accusations that similar promises have been made before saying a “profound difference” was the clergy sharing the stage with loyalists. He added it came after “a lot of soul searching”. It also comes in the wake of high-profile operations by the newly established Paramilitary Crime Task Force which has targeted terror group links to gangsters. Reacting to the news, Chief Constable George Hamilton welcomed the “explicit commitment to peace and the rule of law”. He
added: “I would also acknowledge the hard work of those in progressive loyalism and encourage them to continue their efforts to completely remove illegal paramilitary organisations from our communities. “Twenty years on from the Peace Agreement it is disappointing we are still in a place where there are statements about paramilitary violence and criminality.
“Our communities do not want to live in fear of violence. The Loyalist Community Council must support people in giving information to the police.
“There are no grey areas when it comes to the rule of law.
“Through the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, PSNI will continue to actively pursue and investigate those involved in violence and criminality and place them before the courts in order to protect society and keep people safe.”
The declaration came after the speakers revisited concerns about educational under-achievement in unionist working class areas.
Former Methodist President Norman Hamilton said if education and deprivation are not addressed the “lure of aggressive paramilitarism” will remain.
However, a significant element of the statement was in relation to criminality in areas where the UDA, UVF and RHC would traditionally have drawn support.
William Mitchell, a project director at the ACT community group and David Campbell, a ex-ulster Unionist chairman and key figure in the Loyalist Community Council were also at the event.