Loyalist Commission appeals to republicans for calm
After a summer of almost nightly street violence, the Loyalist Commission echoed the call for calm of the Anglican Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames.
The commission, made up of terror group representatives, politicians and churchmen, admitted Loyalist paramilitaries had been involved in causing trouble along Belfast’s peace line but “only in a defensive capacity.”
The Loyalist Commission said: ``The Loyalist Commission welcomes Archbishop Eames's statement of August 30 and will do all it can to encourage a period of calm within loyalist communities suffering from relentless attacks as a direct consequence of republican politically orchestrated tensions.
“We trust that Archbishop Brady will voice his endorsement of Archbishop Eames’s statement and likewise appeal for a period of calm. Loyalist paramilitaries admit to being involved in interface trouble but only in a defensive capacity. There would be no need for their involvement if the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) were doing their job.”
The commission expressed disappointment that republicans had not responded to its initiative on June 15, vowing there would be no first strike by loyalist paramilitaries in flashpoint areas.
Sinn Féin North Belfast Assembly member Gerry Kelly, reacting cautiously to the statement, said most nationalists would view it with scepticism in the light of events on the ground: “We have had statements from the Loyalist Commission in the past such as the so-called ‘no first strike’ policy which was almost immediately found to be worthless.”
