UDA have 60 days to comply..
The Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has stated that the UDA must engage in a process of decommissioning, overseen by DeChastelain, and move to end criminality if the funding of the UPRG project is to proceed. And they have 60 days to do that in. Personally I’m with Hugh Orde.. and they’ve had more than enough time already. I’ll add any more details as they emerge. Adds Press release from the Department here. And the Minister’s full statement here Update According to a usually reliable Slugger source the Social Development Minister wanted to withdraw the funding immediately.. but none of her Executive colleagues would support that position. Which brings into question what will happen after the 60 days are up..From the Minister’s statement
I have decided therefore that the funding for the CTI project will cease unless there is clear evidence that the UDA means what it says. The funding will end 60 days from now unless there is clear and demonstrable evidence that the UDA has engaged meaningfully with the IICD and has started to decommission its weapons.
I will also want to see evidence that the UDA has moved irreversibly away from criminality and violence to positive and lawful community transformation.
If the evidence and commitment that I seek are forthcoming the funding for the project will remain in place for the three year period as long as the progress towards decommissioning and reducing violence and criminality is sustained.
If, however, what I seek is not evident within 60 days the funding will stop and the project will be wound up. Consequently I have suggested to the Farset organisation, which administers the project, that the staff involved whose interests need to be recognised be put on protective notice.
The conflict is over but the peace is not easy.
This is a test of that.
I’d suggest they’ve already failed that test..
More Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey criticises the announcement as “public posturing”… while Irish Government Minister Dermot Ahern supports the move.
Al
Spot on!
Are you a constitutional nationalist as well?
BTW Be careful with tar, its sticky and you should always use small brushes.
In the immortal words of Winston Churchill, “Collar the lot!”
Give ‘em my hard earned cash? Not fuckin’ likely!
In which parallel universe is Northern Ireland society now revolving?
LHW: ” I do not need resolve to lay out some more spin for you nor issue threats. ”
Do try to keep up… First, it is the UDA who issues thinly veiled threats, not yourself. You, however, swoop in to proffer post-threat spin, trying to explain why the UDA threat isn’t really a threat. Your patter is not unlike that of a side-show barker, LHW.
As for the rest, it is an odd coincidence that after the UDA riots, you disappear.
Lastly, you did not lay out “facts.” You laid out spin. “Facts” would be independently verifiable. You have spun and offered a prognostication — events that have yet to occur can hardly be called facts, now can they? The *MAY* be the outcome 60 days hence, but I wouldn’t make book on it. The UDA would appear to lack the discipline and inclination to pull off simple peaceful protests without descending into riot and the cowardly shooting in the back of police.
What a total idiot this loftholdingswood is. As if the SDLP, DUP, SF, NIO et al don’t peruse Slugger.
How happy will they be with this paramilitary wannabe laughing at them in public. Even if he has let the cat out of the bag, which I seriously doubt because I think he’s just a boastful twat, then you can rest assured positions will now be hardened.
Total idiot no matter how you look at it.
I’ll grant you this, JTIA… you’re at least an equal opportunity nose-tweaker…
justthoughtidask,
The NIO not only peruse the threads, they post on them. Think about it. For once.
“The NIO not only peruse the threads, they post on them.”
Beats pissing on the threads I suppose.
FFS, now pretending to be NIO. A complete fantasist.
No doubt the NIO do poke about on here, but you’re not it.
It’s kinda sad really when that’s all someone’s life consists of.
The NIO not only peruse the threads, they post on them. Think about it. For once.
Do they think law-abiding taxpayers are ‘dweebs’, as well?
There’s an update to the original post which might be of interest to those speculating on the silence of other members of the Executive.
Like most Unionists I was repulsed when I learned that UDA sactioned projected were to be given grants.
Maybe some in the Nationalist community can try and understand the pain we are enduring by watching ira terrorists in highly paid jobs running a country they tried to bomb out of existance.
One is tempted to say whats sauce for the goose is surely sauce for the gander.
PB: “There’s an update to the original post which might be of interest to those speculating on the silence of other members of the Executive. ”
If accurate, it is awfully short-sighted of the Executive. Not only will it encourage the hoods, it will encourage others to call the Executive’s bluff now and again.
A pity there’s not an IQ test for politicians and voters…
Outsider: “Maybe some in the Nationalist community can try and understand the pain we are enduring by watching ira terrorists in highly paid jobs running a country they tried to bomb out of existance. ”
Sorry chummer, but you’re comparing apples to, well, oranges. Nationalists, for whatever reason, support their candidates making them their dutifully elected representatives. What’s the matter, do you have a problem with democracy, or is it that you don’t understand the principle of it?
Dread Cthulhu. Sorry chummer, but you’re comparing apples to, well, oranges. Nationalists, for whatever reason, support their candidates making them their dutifully elected representatives. What’s the matter, do you have a problem with democracy, or is it that you don’t understand the principle of it?
Sorry Mucker but they are both fruit and while the Unionist electorate by and large ignored the Loyalist parmailataries at the polls, Nationalists voted in droves for ira murderers.
Does it make you proud to have ira personell in government?
Fat Frankie has just been on BBC claiming that the minister didn’t demand actual decomissioning just the beginning to a process. He’s going to find that one a hard sell to Jackie and the boys. Presuming that some of them can read, her words are being carried in every newspaper.
well according to the source no1 wanted to back Ms Richie in pulling the funding altogether,
i guess this sheds light on Alex Maskeys decision not to comtinue down the imcompentent leadership trail!
if Margaret is that for looking to pull the funding, what are the SF executive members for sitting on thier high paid asses (working class my ass) and being to scared to support thier fellow nationalist exeuytive member!
One question. Maybe I don’t have the grasp of the law and politics that others here have but here goes. The UDA are still a proscribed organisation aren’t they? Everytime the URPG make a statement the yahoo’s admit publically to being members of the UDA? Wht aren’t they arrested as members of a proscribed organisation or at least investigated by the ARA?
Outsider: “Sorry Mucker but they are both fruit and while the Unionist electorate by and large ignored the Loyalist parmailataries at the polls, Nationalists voted in droves for ira murderers. ”
It’s not all fruit, bumpkin — Nationalism’s thugs, for good or for ill, were almost always political and Loyalism thugs weren’t — writing manifestos is a new trick for them. As such, it is not suprising that Nationalism’s candidates were drawn, in part, from this resevoir. How do you think the chestnut about Nationalists leaving prison with degrees and Loyalists leaving prison with tattoos arose, if not that difference between the two?
As for your mournful whine regarding — how did you phrase it again — Nationalists in “highly paid jobs?” If Unionists want them, all they have to do is convince a majority of voters to favor them instead of Nationalists. No more, no less. From your whinge, you sound as if you long for the days of gerrymandering and not having a Catholic about the place. These are not some sort of affirmative action positions, outsider — they are the duly elected offices arising from free and fair elections.
Like I said, you might wish to review the basic tenets of democracy.
As for your question, I don’t you have a party over there that fits my beliefs, Unionist or Nationalist, so pride doesn’t enter into the equation for me. On day to day life, I am anti-thug, anti-stupid and anti-do-nothing. I think that puts all the main parties off my preference list.
Pete Baker,
That is an interesting update and just shows that public posturing is not always private voting. But then you knew that ( unlike the troll justthoughtidask who knows very little ). It all boils down to sequencing yet again, shades of Sinn Fein of years ago. There is a process already underway and engagement is taking place. In that sense Ritchie can claim a small victory in 60 days time. The IMC will obviously report on Bangor and it will be extremely negative. However there will be some positive reports on other areas and it is that encouragement that will prevail. So, add a touch of engagement with good news in some areas and you will theoretically have just about enough improvement for Ritchie to claim a sort of victory. She will then continue to monitor the process and the story will go away. Semantics played such an important role in the Sinn Fein saga and they will here. Engage meaningfully can be open to interpretation and therefore will play a key role in allowing Ritchie to keep her political head above water.
Due to the troll thread spoiling I will call it a day at that and look forward to 60 days time when even justthoughtidask will understand the words political expediency. Nope, I tell a lie – he still wont have a clue.
lofty how come all your pronouncements we always have to wait 2 months or 6 months or a year for a result.
Used to be a poster on here that always wanted us to wait for paisley to do this and do that and wait and wait
oh forget it i think that was marty the ding aling who promised us how the ombuidsman was going to jail or thsome such nonsense we were supposed to watch the papers for.
his forecasts turned out to be as meaningless as yours
Sean: “how come all your pronouncements we always have to wait 2 months or 6 months or a year for a result. ”
Mainly that it will buy him time to come up with the next round of flim-flam which will, again, promise results “somewhere down the road.”
He’s started to sound like Popeye’s pudgy sidekick J. Wellington Wimpy– “I would gladly promise you a civil society later for a a few million quid today…”
lofty:
It all boils down to sequencing yet again, shades of Sinn Fein of years ago.
No it doesn’t. The chuckies never came on and said “give us money to change ourselves into a peaceful organization”. The chuckies were told there would be no deal until they had started disarming. Secondly, the chuckies have never been given anything that isn’t in at least some respect commensurate with their mandate. There is zero evidence that the UDA/UPRG are a supported organization on the ground.
I’d advise you boys to start shaping yourselves up pretty sharpish. The devolution of policing and justice is on the way, and when that happens, the police service will come under direct local ministerial responsibility. This announcement from Richie is nothing compared to what is in store for violent criminals who don’t want to get with the programme.
As a unionist I do not believe in money being given to the IRA or the UDA /UFF in return for anything, they are pariahs in their communities, so I am concerned at the decision made by the Minister to delay the cutting off the money to the URPG/UDA. Minister Ritchie has requested that Farset put the people already employed in the URPG/ UDA project be put on protective notice in case Frankie Gallagher and his URPG/UDA pals cannot deliver on the arms, drugs and criminality in 60 days. According to Frankie Gallagher this evening she does not require decommissioning in return for the cash. So what then does he think the Minister asked for in return for cash if not guns? What does he think the 60 days cuff off is for? Does she really think that turkeys will vote for Christmas? It is Frankie Gallagher and his ilk in the UDA that are employed on massive salaries to run the CTI projects. Do they really think that people believe that the money is not going to the UDA. It is these communities that really need the money, just ask the people who live in these communities who have been under the thumb of the UDA what they would like happen to the money and they would tell Minister Ritchie to give it direct to the community groups that already exist that are not linked to the URPG/UDA which are one and the same people.
Sorry mistake I meant to say “CUT OFF” not cuff off
“and next time one of the sons of Ulster open fire at some copper’s back, lets hope they start blasting back.â€
Dec
While sympathizing with the individuals, and their families, who have been the victims of these attacks I am sure there are many police men and women who would be uncomfortable at your suggestion that they be obliged to start popping caps in asses under vague guidelines.
“Due to the troll thread spoiling I will call it a day at that and look forward to 60 days time when even justthoughtidask will understand the words political expediency. Nope, I tell a lie – he still wont have a clue.â€
Loftholdingswood
Perhaps you could have referred justthoughtidask to the dictionary definition of the word expediency:
“The quality of being expedient: advantageousness; advisability.
A regard for what is politic or advantageous rather than for what is right or just; a sense of self-interest.â€