Paramilitaries destroying chances of ordinary people - Reid

Paramilitary violence is destroying the chances of a better future for the people of Belfast, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid said tonight.

In a bitter attack on sectarianism at the city’s interfaces, Dr Reid called on paramilitaries to stop pointing the finger at the other community.

“While there is violence, always apparently defensive violence, then the underlying social problems, investment, employment, jobs, security, peace of mind, better standard of living, education will not be enhanced.

“The paramilitaries whatever guise they are under are actually destroying the chances of ordinary people,” he said.

Dr Reid, who was meeting the leader of the nationalist SDLP Mark Durkan to discuss interface violence, welcomed yesterday’s statement by the Loyalist Commission calling for a period of calm.

The commission, a group made up of loyalist paramilitaries, politicians and community and church leaders, has urged republicans to accept their responsibility for violence in flashpoint areas.

“I certainly welcome this statement as another step towards re-establishing some normality in some of the worst-affected areas of Belfast,” said Dr Reid.

“All of us are judged by our actions but part of that is the intentions we display and I think this statement has behind it the intention of de-escalating things.”

But nationalist politicians have reacted sceptically to the statement, pointing out that a policy of “no first strike” announced in June by the Loyalist Commission had not been honoured.

Mr Durkan said that any statement calling for an easing of tension was to be welcomed, but cautioned: “The fact is we have heard the no first strike policy statement. Many of us were very sceptical of that and our scepticism was corroborated.

“We see in this statement an attempt to say that they were only responding defensively. I don’t accept that loyalist paramilitaries have only responded defensively.”

The SDLP leader, who is also Deputy First Minister in the powersharing Assembly, voiced concern to the Secretary of State about the police response to the ongoing violence.

He said police chiefs must engage in a more effective policy of protection and prosecution.

“That is what has been absent. It is common to both unionist and nationalist criticism in relation to policing performance that there hasn’t been a clearly visible cogent policy of protection and prosecution.”

But he welcomed assurances from the new Chief Constable Hugh Orde that the police would do more to hunt down those engaged in sectarian violence.

“I would hope that it would be more visible in future. We have seen some changes in the police approach to some of these areas and it has also been interesting to hear the new Chief Constable’s outlook on some of these matters.”