Comments from the chairman of a loyalist representative organisation suggesting there may be paramilitary violence if an agreed deal on the NI Protocol “falls short”, have been branded sinister and illegitimate.
David Campbell from the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) said that if the DUP slackens in its approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, it would stir unrest in loyalist paramilitary ranks.
He told the News Letter that the LCC, which has representatives from the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando, “has made no secret of the fact that it supports the seven tests the DUP are seeking” around a Protocol agreement.
Mr Campbell said that the DUP’s “sticking to the position” of refusing to go back into Stormont unless a satisfactory deal is reached “has relieved pressure on the ground”.
“If that were to shift, if there were to be a deal that simply fell short of dealing with the core breaches of the agreement, then that pressure will come on big time again – of that, I have absolutely no doubt,” he continued.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that if the basis of the ceasefires is removed – in other words the constitutional stability that the Belfast Agreement provided – then these organisations are going to doubt the very basis on which they agreed their ceasefires.
“In a way, the line is being toed because people are satisfied with the political leadership that unionism is being given at the moment.”
Asked if a deal comes forward in the next few weeks that falls short of these seven tests, Northern Ireland could be in for a “difficult summer”, he replied: “Potentially.”
He added that he was concerned that “elements within those organisations that are much more sceptical would attempt to brush the old leaderships away”.
Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry described Mr Campbell’s remarks as “sinister”.
The North Down MP stated: “As a law abiding citizen, we should expect Mr Campbell to pass onto the police any information he has regarding anyone who is a member of a proscribed organisation which is of course a criminal offence.”
Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for the Innocent Victims United campaign group, said that the protocol is a “political issue” and that his group’s members “hold diverse perspectives” on it, but that “people need to be very clear when they reference terrorist organisations becoming unsettled of the impact this has upon those who have already been victimised by those same organisations.
“Whether republican or loyalist, neither had legitimacy for ever using or threatening violence,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
Mr Campbell also addressed accusations of criminality linked to the East Belfast UVF and the South East Antrim UDA, claiming those elements “essentially aren’t part of the LCC”.
He said he is “satisfied” that around “95% of mainstream loyalism has decisively moved away from nefarious activities of the past”.
If you’re surprised that the government has legitimised a coalition of drug dealers, then that would be an entirely normal reaction.
Will the paras that were released early for signing up to the Belfast agreement return to their cells if they withdraw their support for it?
is anyone really buying this bs? does anyone in NI want rid of the Protocol? and I dont meant British loyalist, I mean like people who own a business, or those under 40, who have known peace.
Folk are sick and tired of loyalist terrorist scumbags trying to influence anything nowadays.
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Comments from the chairman of a loyalist representative organisation suggesting there may be paramilitary violence if an agreed deal on the NI Protocol “falls short”, have been branded sinister and illegitimate.
David Campbell from the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) said that if the DUP slackens in its approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, it would stir unrest in loyalist paramilitary ranks.
He told the News Letter that the LCC, which has representatives from the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando, “has made no secret of the fact that it supports the seven tests the DUP are seeking” around a Protocol agreement.
Mr Campbell said that the DUP’s “sticking to the position” of refusing to go back into Stormont unless a satisfactory deal is reached “has relieved pressure on the ground”.
“If that were to shift, if there were to be a deal that simply fell short of dealing with the core breaches of the agreement, then that pressure will come on big time again – of that, I have absolutely no doubt,” he continued.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that if the basis of the ceasefires is removed – in other words the constitutional stability that the Belfast Agreement provided – then these organisations are going to doubt the very basis on which they agreed their ceasefires.
“In a way, the line is being toed because people are satisfied with the political leadership that unionism is being given at the moment.”
Asked if a deal comes forward in the next few weeks that falls short of these seven tests, Northern Ireland could be in for a “difficult summer”, he replied: “Potentially.”
He added that he was concerned that “elements within those organisations that are much more sceptical would attempt to brush the old leaderships away”.
Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry described Mr Campbell’s remarks as “sinister”.
The North Down MP stated: “As a law abiding citizen, we should expect Mr Campbell to pass onto the police any information he has regarding anyone who is a member of a proscribed organisation which is of course a criminal offence.”
Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for the Innocent Victims United campaign group, said that the protocol is a “political issue” and that his group’s members “hold diverse perspectives” on it, but that “people need to be very clear when they reference terrorist organisations becoming unsettled of the impact this has upon those who have already been victimised by those same organisations.
“Whether republican or loyalist, neither had legitimacy for ever using or threatening violence,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
Mr Campbell also addressed accusations of criminality linked to the East Belfast UVF and the South East Antrim UDA, claiming those elements “essentially aren’t part of the LCC”.
He said he is “satisfied” that around “95% of mainstream loyalism has decisively moved away from nefarious activities of the past”.
If you’re surprised that the government has legitimised a coalition of drug dealers, then that would be an entirely normal reaction.
Will the paras that were released early for signing up to the Belfast agreement return to their cells if they withdraw their support for it?
is anyone really buying this bs? does anyone in NI want rid of the Protocol? and I dont meant British loyalist, I mean like people who own a business, or those under 40, who have known peace.
Folk are sick and tired of loyalist terrorist scumbags trying to influence anything nowadays.