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Category: loyalists

  • The worrying signs that the Tories want to rewrite British occupation in Ireland

    Senior Tories want to create an “official history” of the military occupation of Ireland.

    The plans were first reported in the Telegraph on 13 November. Whitehall officials told the paper that the:

    official history would be independent of ministers and would involve historians being appointed to produce a balanced historical record.

    But critics say it will airbrush out British atrocities. Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams spoke out about the proposals. He stated:

    This group of historians, appointed by the government, will they claim, be independent of the government. Mar dhea! Censorship and bias in the reporting of events and the interpretation and analyses of those events is a powerful weapon in any government’s arsenal.

    Ex-Sinn Féin publicity director Danny Morrison told Irish News the move was a response to recent revelations. In particular, he said a rule change on suppressing particular groups being on television in the Republic of Ireland had rattled the British. The now removed Section 31 was a rule that effectively denied hardline Republican voices a platform on some Irish media. According to Morrison:

    This is a reaction to the fact that certainly across Ireland, now that Section 31 is gone, that suppressed news in the 26 counties, they are now following the situation much more closely.

    Revisionism

    Morrison also said that the Tory plan is linked to documentaries like Unquiet Graves. The film looks at British collusion with murderous Loyalist gangs:

    For example RTÉ put that film on by Sean Murray (Unquiet Graves) – documentaries like this and exposure of collusion upended the narrative that the IRA was the driving force behind the conflict.

    Adams also argued that this “official history” is in response to the increased exposure of Britain’s actions in the north of Ireland:

    They are also worried that the historic narrative is increasingly exposing Britain’s illegal and violent actions during those years.

    Collusion

    Morrison said the history of collusion had already been buried, including in the Stevens Report into collaboration between Loyalist groups, British state forces and the police:

    We have had the Stevens report into collusion suppressed, we were told it would be public and he was only allowed to publish 17 pages out of 3,000 pages in his report.

    He said recent reporting showed a different story to the official narratives:

    If you were to look at the killings by the loyalists, the RUC, the UDR and the British army under the rubric of killings on behalf of the state, in support of the state and the status quo, the statistics of the conflict then look a lot different.

    But as Adams pointed out:

    However hard the British government seeks to do this; however many revisionist historians they employ to bolster Britain’s view of history, the case of Pat Finucane; the importation by British intelligence of South African sourced weapons for Loyalist groups; the three reports by John Stevens; the role of state agents like Brian Nelson, and of the Glenanne Gang; the deaths of hundreds of victims; and the countless official reports by the Ombudsman and others into state collusion, will continue to haunt the British government. No amount of historical revisionism will change this.

    No justice, no peace

    The British state’s urge to rewrite it own history is hardly new. The underhandedness of the Tory plan will compound the sense of unfairness and trauma for those in Republican communities. And without justice, no meaningful peace is likely.

    Featured image – Wikimedia Commons/DColt

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • A ‘blood-soaked journey’ that reminds us what British loyalists contributed to peace in Ireland

    On 8 March in the Irish News, Connla Young revealed the “blood-soaked journey of R18837”. This was the serial number of a VZ58 assault rifle that British loyalists smuggled into the north of Ireland. The Irish News alleges British intelligence knew of its import.

    The article claims the rifle could be responsible for “the murders of up to 12 people” between 1988 and 1994. This information comes to light just five days after a collective calling itself the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) said it was withdrawing from the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). LCC said it’s doing so in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP).

    When another Irish News reporter claimed the LCC statement “may well be seen as a negotiating tactic”, it underlined mainstream media’s sickening double standard. Because when loyalists colluded with British forces during the conflict in Ireland, they didn’t negotiate. They took lives. Many of whom were innocent civilians.

    Who are these loyalists?

    Throughout the 1968-1998 conflict in Ireland, loyalist terror gangs used different cover names. And in its 3 March letter to Boris Johnson and political leaders in Ireland, the LCC claimed to be:

    representative of the main Loyalist Groups that supported the 1998 Belfast agreement [the GFA]

    These “Loyalist Groups” are the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), and Red Hand Commando. All of them committed terrorist atrocities during the 30-year conflict in Ireland.

    So now they’re business people?

    Among the many points raised in their letter, they say they’re:

    concerned about the disruption to trade and commerce [emphasis added] between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom

    And towards the end, the letter says Loyalist groupings are withdrawing support for the GFA:

    until our rights under the Agreement are restored and the Protocol is amended to ensure unfettered access for goods, services [emphasis added], and citizens throughout the United Kingdom.

    But as a political peace agreement, the GFA has nothing specifically to do with trade, goods, or services.

    Their demands

    The letter makes a claim on behalf of the entire population of the north when it says:

    There has been no consent sought for the Protocol from the Northern Ireland population

    But there is in fact support for the NIP among Irish republicans. The letter also claims that the NIP ‘breaches the objectives of the GFA’. And that the border down the Irish Sea created by the NIP:

    undermines the basis on which the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) agreed their 1994 ceasefires and subsequent support for the Belfast Agreement.

    This letter goes on to attack the EU’s chief negotiator for not meeting them. It also attacks Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney, who did meet with them, for choosing “to ignore us”. LCC claims Coveney’s:

    actions and remarks served to heighten tensions in Northern Ireland throughout the negotiations and he is responsible for destroying the with the Irish government built up over the past twenty years.

    But LCC is ignoring the fact that it got a meeting with a democratically elected politician. It says it “is determined that unionist opposition to the protocol should be peaceful and democratic”. But it also warns not to:

    under-estimate the strength of feeling on this issue right across the unionist family. The only time I can remember such unanimity of opposition was following the imposition of the Anglo-Irish agreement in 1985.

    Let’s not forget that loyalist terrorists have broken their ceasefire on numerous occasions since the signing of the 1998 agreement. So they’ve already breached the GFA.

    Mainstream reporting

    Mainstream media didn’t hold back when former newspaper editor Roy Greenslade announced that he supported the use of physical force by Irish republicans. Yet it’s taking a softer approach towards British loyalists. The mainstream reports on the LCC as if it’s a mere lobby group. One that’s upset by the “trade and commerce” implications of the NIP.

    Because on 15 February, the Belfast Telegraph described the LCC as “an umbrella organisation representing loyalist groups”. That article said these loyalists have “written to two MPs and 10 MLAs warning that ‘no form of Irish Sea border will ever be tolerated’”.

    When the BBC reported on LCC meeting with the Brexiteer party DUP, it referred to the LCC as “the organisation which represents loyalist paramilitary groups”. ITV also called it an “umbrella group” while the Guardian called them “loyalist groups”. While interviewees did mention the word ‘terrorist’, these publications didn’t lead with that word.

    And on 4 March, when the Irish News claimed the LCC letter to Johnson could be a “negotiating tactic”, it merely said it was “a very concerning and potentially destabilising development”. Hardly a single use of the word ‘terrorist’ by the publications themselves, which we’ve grown accustomed to when reporting on Irish republicans.

    An obvious double standard

    These unelected loyalists complain the Irish foreign minister ignored them. But the Irish minister at least met with them, as did the DUP. Contrast that with Johnson’s refusal to meet Sinn Féin (SF) – and SF is a democratically elected part of government in the north. It’s also the largest opposition party in the southern parliament.

    It wouldn’t take much to imagine the public outrage if SF or Irish government ministers were to meet with the IRA. Nor to imagine the reaction if the IRA were to write to Johnson. But it raises little to no condemnation when loyalists do so. At best it’s a double standard. At worst, it legitimises the activities of such ‘groups’.

    Featured image via Wikimedia – Hrd10

    By Peadar O'Cearnaigh

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Report shows army and MI5 colluded with loyalist terror gang in killings

    Evidence has emerged that suggests the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), one of the three loyalist paramilitary organisations that have withdrawn from the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), colluded with the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and MI5 in killings.

    “Professionally carried out”

    The evidence relates to the murder of three IRA volunteers as well as a civilian. The IRA volunteers were John Quinn, Malcolm Nugent and Dwayne O’Donnell, and the civilian was Thomas Armstrong. UVF reportedly took responsibility for the killings, which took place at Boyle’s Bar in Cappagh in March 1991.

    In December of that year, three part-time members of the UDR were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murders. Another man who was related to one of the UDR men was detained too, but no charges were made.

    Now, a British army document has come to light. It not only provides information on how the UVF attack was executed but also the weapons used. The document further states that the murders were “professionally carried out”. In particular:

    From investigation of the scene it was found that the groupings of the bursts of fire were quiet [sic] exceptional for a PPM [Protestant paramilitaries] shoot and the targets had been well acquired.

    This new evidence was first revealed by the Irish News:

    Collusion

    The Belfast Telegraph states that a report has been handed to the victims’ relatives. The report, drafted by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) on those killed at Boyle’s Bar, says that:

    in the months after the killings three serving UDR members were named in intelligence reports as being responsible [for the killings].

    It further states that a “possible MI5 link involvement was also raised”.

    Phoenix Law lawyer Gavin Booth represents the families. He commented that this disclosure is “the first time a state report confirms collusion” in the Boyle’s Bar murders.

    More collusion

    It’s worth highlighting that there are many other instances of collusion or interaction between the UVF, and other loyalist paramilitaries, and British intelligence and armed forces.

    According to a lengthy exposé in Village, these include:

    • MI5 infiltration of Ulster Resistance (UR). Also, that “information was leaked from RUC [Royal Ulster Constabulary] and the UDR which provided [UR] with details of ‘suspected republicans’”.
    

      

    • Collusion between the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). It’s also reported that RUC intelligence was “used to target suspected republicans, including Loughlin Maginn, shot in Rathfriland in August 1989. His death, following that of solicitor Pat Finucane in February 1989, sparked the decades-long investigations by Sir John Stevens into collusion by the Security forces”.
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    • Claims that “MI5-controlled provocateur” Robert Nairac “obtained equipment and weapons for, co-ordinated and executed the [Miami Showband] massacre which was perpetrated by the UVF led by their commander Robin Jackson. … Two serving UDR officers, and one ex-UDR officer served life sentences for the murders”.
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    • Collusion between UDA agent Brian Nelson (found guilty of solicitor Pat Finucane’s murder) and the Force Research Unit (FRU).
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    Other revelations
    

    In a July 2016 article, The Canary revealed a restricted document that provided evidence of the UK government’s collusion with paramilitary organisations in the north of Ireland. The document consisted of testimony by Ian Hurst, an FRU agent, who also went by the name Martin Ingram.
    

    Then in November 2018, The Canary reported on another example of collusion involving the Glenanne gang, which:
    

    was made up of members of the RUC, a former police force in Northern Ireland; the UDR, a British Army regiment; and the UVF, a loyalist paramilitary group. It was centrally involved in the murder of over 120 innocent civilians between July 1972 and the end of 1978. The group also took its murderous campaign south of the border.
    

    And in December 2020, The Canary reported on the 1971 McGurk’s bar massacre, when 15 people were killed and more than 16 were injured. The article reported that author and activist Ciarán MacAirt revealed files showing:
    

    the name of the UVF’s original target that evening and showed there was a nearby British army presence that evening also. Moreover, MacAirt claims his revelations connect General Frank Kitson [British general who authored ‘Low Intensity Operations’] to the atrocity.
    

    It’s claimed that a staggeringly high number of Loyalist paramilitary members were British intelligence assets.
    

    Meanwhile, the UVF, UDA, and Red Hand Commando – all proscribed terrorist organisations – are continuing to pressure the UK and EU on matters related to Brexit. And going by the UK government’s track record for duplicity, it’s doubtful whether it can be trusted to be on the right side of history here.
    

    Featured image via YouTube
    

    By Tom Coburg
    


    This post was originally published on The Canary. 
    
	
    
	
	
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    Loyalist gangs withdraw support from the Good Friday Agreement over post-Brexit Irish border
    
			
    
			

			
		
    
		

		
    Loyalist paramilitaries have withdrawn support from the Good Friday Agreement over post-Brexit border measures.
    

    The Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) is an umbrella organisation that reportedly includes proscribed terror groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Red Hand Commando. The group has written a letter to Boris Johnson and Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin. It warns that the 1998 peace agreement faces “destruction” if the border is imposed.
    

    In the letter, which was first reported by the Irish News, LCC chair David Campbell said:
    

    please do not underestimate the strength of feeling on this issue right across the unionist family. … Accordingly, I have been instructed to advise you that the loyalist groupings are herewith withdrawing their support for the Belfast agreement until our rights under the agreement are restored and the protocol is amended to ensure unfettered access for goods, services, and citizens throughout the United Kingdom. If the EU is not prepared to honour the entirety of the agreement then it will be responsible for the permanent destruction of the agreement.
    

    He said that Loyalist groups were:
    

    hereby withdrawing support for the Belfast Agreement and its institutions until our rights under the agreement are restored
    

    Campbell added that the groups were concerned that new border checks for goods coming in would create “disruption to trade and commerce between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom”.
    

    No return to violence?
    

    Responding to the letter, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Jeffrey Donaldson spoke to the BBC. Donaldson said that following his own discussions with the LCC on the matter, he felt there was:
    

    no sense that loyalist paramilitaries were going to revert to violence in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol. I think that is reflected in this statement. Of course we are very clear that choosing the path of violence is not the way to go in any circumstances.
    

    Loyalist gangs
    

    The move drew criticism from politicians in the north of Ireland, but the implications are not yet clear. Stephen Farry, an MP with the centrist Alliance party, said:
    

    

    The agreement stands on the basis of the dual referendums in 1998. I am more concerned at the continued escalation of rhetoric and building of unrealistic expectations that the protocol can be replaced in the absence of a plausible alternative.
    

    

    Farry said he was concerned “that what is essentially a voice for proscribed terrorist organisations is becoming an actor in a political debate”.
    

    Irish News security reporter Allison Morris, who broke the story, tweeted a full version of the LCC letter. She warned that while the move might be meant as a negotiating tactic, it could have a “destabilising” effect:
    

    


    

    But whether or not the letter is intended as a negotiation tool, these threatening words are a worrying sign. And it is yet more evidence that the Tories have failed Ireland when it comes to Brexit.
    

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Keith Ruffles
    

    By Joe Glenton
    


    This post was originally published on The Canary.