USE NEW LAWS TO DEAL WITH PUNISHMENT SQUADS CALL
Use new laws to deal with 'punishment' squads call
By GARY KELLY
PARAMILITARY godfathers behind so-called "punishment" attacks should be dealt with by the tough new security measures announced in the wake of the Omagh bomb, an anti-terror group urged yesterday.
The call came from Families Against Intimidation and Terror spokesman Glynn Roberts in response to two more examples of paramilitary-style "justice".
The first attack took place shortly after 10pm on Wednesday when a man in his 30s was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and hands after a shooting in Virginia Way in the loyalist Donegall Pass area.
In the second attack, a 30-year-old man was savagely beaten by an armed gang in his Newtownards home in the early hours of yesterday morning.
He is being treated at the Ulster Hospital for a broken leg, a broken arm and head and facial injuries and is described as stable.
The man was attacked by at least four masked men, one armed with a handgun, who smashed their way through the front door of the house in Abbot Walk.
Police in Newtownards are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to phone them on 01247 818080.
Both attacks are believed to be the work of loyalist paramilitary groups whose political representatives have signed up to the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Roberts spoke of his disillusion at the Government's complete lack of response to the wave of paramilitary attacks that have blighted Northern Ireland.
"The Government's new security package should include those paramilitaries who are involved in these so called "punishment" attacks.
"The police have the necessary intelligence as to is behind these attacks but have always found it difficult to provide evidence.
"It is entirely right for the two governments to use these security measures to tackle the Real IRA for their atrocities.
"It should also be equally the case for those paramilitaries who are involved in beatings, shootings and intimidating people," he said.
Mr Roberts backed the plan to make it easier to convict someone of being a member of a proscribed organisation by allowing the sworn evidence of a senior police officer to be admissable in court.
The proposal - sparked by the death-dealing Omagh bombing, the work of the self-styled Real IRA - provoked an angry reaction from Sinn Fein chiefs, who branded the Government package repressive.
But Mr Roberts said: "It is entirely right for the two governments to use these security measures to tackle the Real IRA for their atrocities."
PUP Assembly member David Ervine questioned whether Mr Roberts knew why "punishment" attacks took place. He said that many people in working class areas believe they are entitled to summary justice to right a wrong.
He said that powers to arrest paramilitary leaders in areas where attacks have taken place would not lead to an end to punishment shootings and beatings, which are largely community-driven.
"They are morally reprehensible, unjustified and have to stop. We are trying to create an alternative where no punishment beatings take place," he said.
Despite attempts to persuade paramilitaries to follow the democratic path, he believes it will take years before the "subculture" of paramilitarism is driven from the streets.
"I would certainly not advocate summary justice under any circumstances.
"If people believe that an injustice has been perpetrated and they want justice, they should go to the forces of law and order and don't approach the paramilitaries," he added.
Paddy Lynn, the Workers Party representative in south Belfast, called on loyalist paramilitaries to declare an end to their punishment attacks following the shooting of a man in the Donegall Pass area.
By GARY KELLY
PARAMILITARY godfathers behind so-called "punishment" attacks should be dealt with by the tough new security measures announced in the wake of the Omagh bomb, an anti-terror group urged yesterday.
The call came from Families Against Intimidation and Terror spokesman Glynn Roberts in response to two more examples of paramilitary-style "justice".
The first attack took place shortly after 10pm on Wednesday when a man in his 30s was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and hands after a shooting in Virginia Way in the loyalist Donegall Pass area.
In the second attack, a 30-year-old man was savagely beaten by an armed gang in his Newtownards home in the early hours of yesterday morning.
He is being treated at the Ulster Hospital for a broken leg, a broken arm and head and facial injuries and is described as stable.
The man was attacked by at least four masked men, one armed with a handgun, who smashed their way through the front door of the house in Abbot Walk.
Police in Newtownards are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to phone them on 01247 818080.
Both attacks are believed to be the work of loyalist paramilitary groups whose political representatives have signed up to the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Roberts spoke of his disillusion at the Government's complete lack of response to the wave of paramilitary attacks that have blighted Northern Ireland.
"The Government's new security package should include those paramilitaries who are involved in these so called "punishment" attacks.
"The police have the necessary intelligence as to is behind these attacks but have always found it difficult to provide evidence.
"It is entirely right for the two governments to use these security measures to tackle the Real IRA for their atrocities.
"It should also be equally the case for those paramilitaries who are involved in beatings, shootings and intimidating people," he said.
Mr Roberts backed the plan to make it easier to convict someone of being a member of a proscribed organisation by allowing the sworn evidence of a senior police officer to be admissable in court.
The proposal - sparked by the death-dealing Omagh bombing, the work of the self-styled Real IRA - provoked an angry reaction from Sinn Fein chiefs, who branded the Government package repressive.
But Mr Roberts said: "It is entirely right for the two governments to use these security measures to tackle the Real IRA for their atrocities."
PUP Assembly member David Ervine questioned whether Mr Roberts knew why "punishment" attacks took place. He said that many people in working class areas believe they are entitled to summary justice to right a wrong.
He said that powers to arrest paramilitary leaders in areas where attacks have taken place would not lead to an end to punishment shootings and beatings, which are largely community-driven.
"They are morally reprehensible, unjustified and have to stop. We are trying to create an alternative where no punishment beatings take place," he said.
Despite attempts to persuade paramilitaries to follow the democratic path, he believes it will take years before the "subculture" of paramilitarism is driven from the streets.
"I would certainly not advocate summary justice under any circumstances.
"If people believe that an injustice has been perpetrated and they want justice, they should go to the forces of law and order and don't approach the paramilitaries," he added.
Paddy Lynn, the Workers Party representative in south Belfast, called on loyalist paramilitaries to declare an end to their punishment attacks following the shooting of a man in the Donegall Pass area.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/119
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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