Official Communication from the UFA
Posted by Jim on July 24, 2018
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Official Communication from the UFA
Posted by Jim on
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Francie Molloy tells of secret meeting before UVF unit halted killing spree
Posted by Jim on July 23, 2018
A senior member of Sinn Féin has revealed details of a secret meeting with loyalists before a deadly UVF unit called a halt to its murder campaign.
Mid Ulster MP Francie Molloy said it took place a hotel car park near Dungannon in the early 1990s.
It is believed the meeting was called after a senior figure in the gang was killed by the IRA.
Mr Molloy said it was held in a car outside the Glengannon Hotel, which has since closed, and was attended by himself, two loyalists and a Protestant clergyman.
The Irish News understands the meeting was monitored at a distance by other republicans.
While the existence of the meeting was revealed by the Irish News last year, details of what took place can now be made public for the first time.
The UVF unit is suspected by some of being involved in the murder of several Catholics in the Mid-Ulster area during the late 1980s and early ’90s.
It was one of two loyalist gangs operating in the area at the time whose members were based in a rural part of east Tyrone.
The majority of those involved in the gang are also believed to have been members of the UDR.
Republican sources say that after the meeting there was a decrease in the activity of the UVF gang.
The Irish News understands it was arranged after the Protestant minister contacted a republican sympathiser in east Tyrone.
Mr Molloy said he attended the meeting, which sources say may have taken place in the summer of June 1993, after receiving a telephone call.
“I got a phone call asking would I go and meet these people and didn’t know who I was meeting or the extent of the meeting,” he said.
“At that stage I would have been getting calls to go to the Glengannon to sort out some sort of row.”
UDR members on patrolMr Molloy said he was not aware of the identities of the two loyalists present.
“It was quiet clear we were dealing with loyalists,” he said.
“They did identify themselves as UVF and they were speaking on behalf of the UVF.”
He said he approached the meeting with an open mind.
“I was open to discussion and an opportunity to meet with loyalists and said that there was no need for conflict between nationalists and unionist communities and that we needed to find a way through it and manage the change within it,” he said.
Around the time of the meeting there was strong speculation that the IRA was preparing to call a ceasefire – which was eventually called in in 1994.
Members of a UVF gang in east Tyrone are believed to have ended their campaign after a meeting with republicans in the early 1990sMr Molloy said the loyalist delegation was concerned about what the future held for them.
“They more or less said that loyalists in Mid Ulster would not be sold out by whatever decisions were made in Belfast and they would make their own decisions,” he said.
“No matter what decisions they were taking in Belfast from a republican or loyalist point of view, they had their own agenda in Mid Ulster.”
He said it was clear from what those present said that the UVF unit was considering ending its activities.
“The message I was taking from it was there had been a number of killings in the area of loyalists and UDR and what these people were saying was ‘we want this to stop – we want to reassure republicans we will not be retaliating and we want it to stop on both sides’,” he said.
“The message coming to me as a Sinn Féin representative was that this loyalist group was saying they were stopping.
“I don’t think there were any other attacks in that area – there was an understanding that things were moving on.”
The MP recalled that when he first got into the car the atmosphere was tense.
“People were a bit apprehensive but there was a calmness and no real aggressiveness and people knew what they were doing and what the purpose of it was,” he said.
Mr Molloy said he remained cautious about the meeting.
“At the time I was thinking ‘how did I get myself into this?’”
“In these circumstances you don’t know if tempers are going to be raised.
“I have to say it was calm and collected and they wanted to deliver a message and talk to republicans.”
He added: “The meeting was an opportunity for people to say what they wanted to say and other people to understand where they were coming from.”
Mr Molloy said the encounter ended “amicably” after around 30 minutes and those present thanked each other for the exchange.
There was no further contact.
“It was a good meeting with the clearing of air and better understanding and it was one of those early stages of outreach between loyalists and republican communities in the area.”
The senior republican said his role was as a “Sinn Féin representative and point of contact”.
“We did that with loyalists and unionists and were always trying to make contact with unionist representatives and Protestant clergymen.
“We would have met other Protestant clergymen to allay fears and talk things over.”
He added that he often acted as a mediator during this period.
“You were meeting families and people trying to mediate and trying to accommodate,” he said.
“Particularly for Sinn Féin councillors at the time you were fighting the case for republicans.
“For a good number of years we had been following coffin after coffin and now saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Any chance to relieve pressure and exchange ideas – all of that was important.”
May disowns backstop deal
Posted by Jim on July 21, 2018
After a chaotic week of u-turns and narrow votes at the Westminster
parliament, the British Prime Minister has denounced a previously agreed
‘backstop’ plan to ensure no border checks are introduced across the
island of Ireland.
The Tory leader spent two days in the north of Ireland this week in a
visit which Sinn Fein described as being about Mrs May “coming to pick a
fight with Ireland and to pick a fight with the European Union”.
In her address at the Waterfront Hall, May claimed the EU’s backstop
proposal to prevent a hard border would “dislocate” the north of Ireland
from Britain.
Although the north of Ireland voted against Brexit, Mrs May cited the
consent principle of the Good Friday Agreement, “that it will always be
for the people of Northern Ireland to decide ‘without external
impediment’ what their constitutional future should be”.
She said a “customs border within our own country [sic] is something I
will never accept and I believe no British prime minister could ever
accept. And as they made clear this week, it is not something the House
of Commons will accept either.”
Her intransigent address repeated other unionist themes and offered no
solutions to the Brexit crisis.
Speaking after meeting the Tory leader, Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald
said Mrs May had “set aside” an agreement made with the EU in December
by rejecting the backstop.
“We were told that the British prime minister came to Ireland to listen
and to reassure – it is clear that she is not listening to community and
business interests and seeks only to reassure the DUP.”
“Theresa May claims to want to avoid a hard border in Ireland, while
pursuing a policy that will deliver a hard border,” she added.
May’s visit appeared to have been organised by the DUP, on whom she is
critically dependent at Westminster. Her sole engagement outside Belfast
was in the DUP leader’s constituency, and had dinner with DUP figures
while only allowing brief access to the other main parties.
Following a rebellion by hard-right Tories, May allowed her white paper
on Brexit to be heavily amended, including one measure that would
prevent any customs checks for goods traded between Britain and the
north of Ireland. That move alone could ensure a hard border across
Ireland.
The 26 County Tanaiste Simon Coveney has revealed contingency plans to
recruit more than 500 customs and veterinary inspectors in preparation
for a hard Brexit.
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Coveney said some elements of Downing Street’s
white paper would be the basis of agreement but others “might not be
workable”.
“We want to de-dramatise some of these things, which are the basis of
exaggeration and headlines across media outlets, and get down to a
focused negotiation to try to work out what in the white paper can be
accommodated and can be the basis of agreement and in what areas do we
need new thinking to ensure that the EU’s interests are protected while
also negotiating a fair deal for Britain,” he said.
However, Sinn Fein expressed concern after the Dublin government said it
was open to the possibility of a new deal on the border.
A comment by the 26 County Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, that
Dublin will consider a new plan if it is better than the one on the
table, appeared to move away from the so-called ‘bulletproof’ agreement
touted by 26 County Taoiseach back in December.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach last week
“equivocated and failed to stand over” the backstop as agreed.
“Since then, we have seen further chaos in Britain with emboldened
Brexiteers seeking to abandon the December backstop altogether,” she
said.
“Our citizens, our economy, and our businesses require certainty. There
have been reports that the EU is preparing to amend the backstop
arrangements. We need clarity on this point.
“The Taoiseach is outlining plans for failure, but has yet to outline
his plan for success.
“He needs to make clear, with our EU partners, that they still stand
over the backstop as agreed, that will make good on the agreement made
in December, and how they intend to bring legal clarity and certainty in
advance of the withdrawal agreement.”
UVF HANDED PSNI DATABASE
Posted by Jim on
In a major incident of potential collusion, elements within the PSNI have
passed on to loyalist paramilitaries the details and electronic data of
hundreds of people who they have been spying on.
A pen drive containing the database was inserted into a device which had
been removed for investigation and subsequently returned to the
paramilitaries. Among those whose details are now in the hands of the
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) are political and business figures.
Loyalists have been bragging about the data trove to the media. “The IRA
had to go to the trouble of breaking into Castlereagh, we’ve been handed
this information without having to leave the house,” one told the Irish
News. “It raises the question what are the PSNI doing with this kind of
information in the first place.”
One west Belfast business owner has said he had been “traumatised” by
the news that his company’s private security information was given to
the UVF. Others who have previously been targeted by loyalist gangs
fear they have access to their personal information and communications.
Human rights lawyer Niall Murphy, a partner with of KRW Law, said he
would be preparing an action for a number of clients. He expected they
would shortly be contacted by the PSNI.
“We have been inundated with instructions from people who fear that
their details may have been leaked to loyalist paramilitaries,” Mr
Murphy said. “These range from a variety of concerned sources, including
individuals who have pursued previous litigation in respect of their
personal details having been previously disclosed to loyalist
paramilitaries.”
He said they had also received instructions from organisations concerned
that their private business communications had been accessed without a
search warrant.
Public concern over renewed PSNI collusion with the UVF comes after a
wave of unchecked UVF violence linked to the removal of two
controversial bonfires ten days ago.
Significantly, the PSNI has not made any arrests or searched a single
property in connection with the disturbances. The force was accused of
facilitating the UVF actions by closing roads and railway lines with
little justification – one hoax device consisted only of a section of
wire taped loosely to an empty gas cylinder.
Sinn Fein’s Linda Dillon said she was seeking an urgent meeting with the
PSNI.
“This scale and nature of this breach is shocking and will cause huge
concern to those affected,” she said.
“I will be demanding a rigorous investigation into this scandal. People
deserve answers and they need to know that measures will be taken to
ensure this never happens again.
“Those affected also need reassurance that whatever steps are required
to ensure their safety are put in place.”