Death squads supported Orange protests
The appearance of known LVF men wearing orange collarettes at the
Orange Order's violent standoff at Drumcree last week is no
isolated incident. The filming of a loyalist gunman, under the
glare of an RUC spotlight, as he calmly shot at the crown forces
indicates that these gangs are happy to take on the mantle of
military wing of the Orange Order.
Even the RUC have admitted that these gangs have been responsible
for co-ordinating attacks on them and the British army.
The blast bomb thrown by loyalists at Drumcree last Thursday,
which injured four RUC officers, was a new design similar to ones
seized by crown forces in North Belfast the previous afternoon.
The RUC said they were worried about this find because it showed
``organisational planning on the part of one group at least.''
Namely the UDA.
On Tuesday 7 July senior UDA men were engaged in Orange Order
protests in the city and LVF members were spotted in Ligoniel in
North Belfast, shortly after gunfire was heard. Earlier in the
evening trees were felled across roads leading in and out of the
estate, and cudgel-wielding loyalists mounted checkpoints to seal
the nationalist residents into their area.
In Ballymoney, just days before the slaughter of the Quinn
brothers, Catholics in the area received cards which read: `UVF,
get out, get out'. Many of the areas where the RUC and British
army came under gun and blast bomb attack are UDA strongholds.
In the most concerted fire bombings, in Carrickfergus, it is
widely acknowledged to have been the work of the UDA, although
that gang's participation in attacks has dwindled because their
prisoners complained to the leadership. They were worried that
they may lose out on the early release scheme promised in the
Good Friday document.
Although the Orange protest at Drumcree now seems to be petering
out, the future `ceasefires' of these death squads is still in
serious doubt. It would therefore be prudent for nationalists
across the north to remain alert.
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