Dr John Reid has warned that if there is further “UDA inspired violence” in Belfast tonight then the organisation’s ceasefire will be declared over. His warning comes in the wake of successive nights of rioting by Loyalists in North Belfast, which has left 46 RUC officers injured.
The Northern Secretary was speaking at a press conference a short time ago. He said that it had been his intention today to declare the ceasefire over. However, an hour and a half before the press conference the leadership of the UDA communicated to him that it would bring the violence to an end, Mr Reid said.
Loyalists staged a peaceful demonstration on the Crumlin Road tonight and dispersed peacefully after an hour. It was the same nightly protest, mainly by women and children, which preceded the Loyalist violence of the previous two nights.
Dr Reid said today that he was deeply sceptical of any words from the UDA and said that he would judge the organisation by its actions “tonight, tomorrow night and every night”. Mr Reid said that if there was a continuation of the pipebomb campaign, “sectarian in its nature”, the UDA ceasefire would be declared over.
He added that it was a wake up call to anyone who thought that they could drag Northern Ireland back into the hatred of the past. He explained that the reason he was singling out the UDA and not other paramilitary organisations was because the level, scale and nature of the violence was different.
Earlier today, the chairman of the Ulster Democratic Party said that any move by Dr Reid to declare the UDA ceasefire over would be very dangerous. John White said that the vast majority of members who were now adhering to the ceasefire might, as a result, “go out and do things”.
Mr White added that the UDA as an organisation was not orchestrating recent violence and that the paramilitary group was still on ceasefire. However, he said that he believed there were individual members who may have been defending the areas they lived in.
Responding to comments made by the SDLP Assembly member Alban Maginness, Mr White said that it was absolutely ridiculous to say that the IRA had not been involved in orchestrating a campaign against Loyalists.
In a separate development, the Taoiseach said that the recent violence in North Belfast is reminiscent of the darkest days of the troubles. Bertie Ahern added that the Government is very concerned with the level of the recent violence. He called on all politicians to do what they could to restore calm and ease tension.
Asked about the state of the UDA ceasefire, the Taoiseach said that he had raised the issue with Tony Blair and the Northern Secretary. While the RUC had said, in the past, that individual Loyalists and not the entire organisation were involved in acts of violence, Mr Ahern said that the level of the recent violence and the number of people involved did not look like a pattern of isolated incidents.
Mr Ahern added that Irish officials from the Secretariat in Belfast were monitoring the situation on the ground in North Belfast with a view to ensuring that people were safe in their homes.
