Governments must act now to end loyalist attacks on Catholics
The siege conditions many Catholic families have lived under for several months in north Antrim and parts of Belfast have got limited coverage in the media in the South.
There is a growing perception that the decommissioned IRA is now a greater threat to our Government and the economic interests of those who own our media than when they had a gun in one hand and ballot paper in the other.
It is not remarkable that Dr Paisley and Reg Empey of the UUP hold the same fears.
However, the unprotected Catholics of north Antrim, the heartland of Paisley country, and indeed more Catholics throughout many areas in the North, feel extremely vulnerable to the campaigns being launched against them by sinister forces immune to the law. The inability of our Government to influence the British government to act positively to protect vulnerable Catholics is not a surprise to any observer of Northern Ireland affairs.
Unless loyalist paramilitaries decommission and the attacks on Catholics are ended, the void left by the IRA could be filled by others. The urgency to avoid this demands the attention of the Government.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s obsession with pursuit of the IRA, while oblivious to the activities of loyalist paramilitaries, is a critical flaw in the fulfilment of his brief.
The more he and sections of the national media attack Sinn Féin, the greater their support base will become in the next general election.
Both governments and the parties supporting the Good Friday Agreement must ensure its deliverance in full. The IRA dithered in fulfilling their part, but could you blame them in view of the loyalist violence and the sectarianism in Dr Paisley’s constituency?
Mr McDowell, open your eyes and bite your tongue.
John J Hassett
Croke Street
Thurles
Co Tipperary
