MP'S TO NAME THE TERROR GODFATHERS
MPs to name the terror godfathers
THE Real IRA godfather who constructed the 1,000lb bomb which killed 29 people, injured more than 200 others and ripped the heart out of Omagh town centre, is one of a string of Ulster terrorists in line to be publicly "outed" in an extraordinary Northern Ireland Question Time debate scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
A 30-strong band of cross-party MPs, including Tories Andrew McKay, Andrew Hunter, and former Nl Minister Peter Bottomley, as well as several leading Labour and Lib-Dems, have spent weeks compiling a list of terrorists, based on police information, who are said to have carried out or ordered murders and punishment attacks since the Good Friday signing in April.
They will use parliamentary privilege - which protects them from libel action - to lift the lid on the hushed-up tyranny which they claim is holding Ulster residents and the very peace process to ransom.
The move follows mounting pressure on MPs to act against punishment attacks.
Now the Province will be waiting to hear the name of the one man who made the deadly device which caused Ulster's single worst atrocity in 30 years of Troubles.
Other killers to be named include the IRA gangland boss who ordered the fatal knee-capping of north Belfast man Andrew Kearney and the henchman who pulled the trigger, last July.
Mr Kearney bled to death after a 12-strong hit squad burst into his New Lodge flat, blasted him in both knees, ripped out the phone and jammed the lift.
Last night his mum was celebrating news of the imminent exposure of her son's murderers, describing it as a "bitter-sweet victory".
"I'm absolutely delighted that Andrew's killers are going to be exposed in this way. The fact that they are walking the streets while Andrew rots kills me. But at least now they will not be allowed to remain nameless and faceless."
Leading UVF bosses, as well as the UDA commander who police and victims' groups claim is orchestrating a reign of terror over Lisburn residents, are also expected to lose their anonymity.
And a notorious IRA early- release prisoner is to be accused of ordering several vicious punishment attacks in Belfast since he was released from the Maze several weeks ago.
A self-confessed reformed man, he was one of several ex-IRA men awarded thousands of pounds recently to help him get on his feet and find bona-fide work. But police say he has simply slipped back into the world of terrorist crime.
The News Letter has obtained a leaked copy of the highly- confidential document which the MPs involved have drawn up about the subject and intend to read out at the debate.
In strong, unequivocal language, it lays bare the brutal facts about terrorist beatings and shootings in the Province and insists their continuance now threatens the peace process like never before.
It claims many people living on Ulster estates "face a situation of despair...organised gangs are operating a reign of terror, inflicting misery and
repression on ordinary people".
"The grip of the paramilitaries has now become a stranglehold with all opposition virtually silenced by threats," says the document.
"Many, although not all, community groupings or associations on the estates are virtually controlled by the paramilitaries or their representatives and dissent is not allowed."
But the main thread running through the document is the opinion that there is now widespread cynicism towards the peace process in the wake of so many intimidation attacks.
'The heady and public celebrations of the early days of the ceasefires have given way to widespread cynicism and a sense that the political process with its various talks and conferences is irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people. Discussions on decommissioning seem very distant from the facts of day-to-day living."
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Andrew McKay said he was personally prepared to name republican and loyalist killers.
"It's just not good enough for Mo Mowlam and her security minister Adam Ingram to urge people to report these incidents to the police. More has to be done to stop them."
A House of Commons source told the News Letter the terrorists on the list had been chosen because of the unlikelihood of them ever being prosecuted for their crimes.
"We've picked out these people because police claim they know they carried out a number of crimes, but fear they can never prove it in a court of law, because witnesses are simply too afraid to give evidence.
"But we want to ensure that the world knows what they have done after all. These terrorists cannot be allowed to impose their will on innocent, law-abiding people, and shoot, maim or kill to their heart's content.
"If the peace process is to survive then something has to be done to stop these people. We hope this dramatic step will start that ball rolling."
FAIT development officer, Vincent McKenna, is helping draw up the list of terrorists for MPs.
He said: "We really want to go for these boys and show that they can't get away with murder."
There have been only a handful of occasions in the Commons' history when MPs have named alleged terrorists.
In 1987 the Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone named a local republican he claimed was behind the IRA bombing in Enniskillen.
And in 1995 David Trimble named two senior IRA men in Belfast, describing them as the Provos' leading activists in Belfast.
THE Real IRA godfather who constructed the 1,000lb bomb which killed 29 people, injured more than 200 others and ripped the heart out of Omagh town centre, is one of a string of Ulster terrorists in line to be publicly "outed" in an extraordinary Northern Ireland Question Time debate scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
A 30-strong band of cross-party MPs, including Tories Andrew McKay, Andrew Hunter, and former Nl Minister Peter Bottomley, as well as several leading Labour and Lib-Dems, have spent weeks compiling a list of terrorists, based on police information, who are said to have carried out or ordered murders and punishment attacks since the Good Friday signing in April.
They will use parliamentary privilege - which protects them from libel action - to lift the lid on the hushed-up tyranny which they claim is holding Ulster residents and the very peace process to ransom.
The move follows mounting pressure on MPs to act against punishment attacks.
Now the Province will be waiting to hear the name of the one man who made the deadly device which caused Ulster's single worst atrocity in 30 years of Troubles.
Other killers to be named include the IRA gangland boss who ordered the fatal knee-capping of north Belfast man Andrew Kearney and the henchman who pulled the trigger, last July.
Mr Kearney bled to death after a 12-strong hit squad burst into his New Lodge flat, blasted him in both knees, ripped out the phone and jammed the lift.
Last night his mum was celebrating news of the imminent exposure of her son's murderers, describing it as a "bitter-sweet victory".
"I'm absolutely delighted that Andrew's killers are going to be exposed in this way. The fact that they are walking the streets while Andrew rots kills me. But at least now they will not be allowed to remain nameless and faceless."
Leading UVF bosses, as well as the UDA commander who police and victims' groups claim is orchestrating a reign of terror over Lisburn residents, are also expected to lose their anonymity.
And a notorious IRA early- release prisoner is to be accused of ordering several vicious punishment attacks in Belfast since he was released from the Maze several weeks ago.
A self-confessed reformed man, he was one of several ex-IRA men awarded thousands of pounds recently to help him get on his feet and find bona-fide work. But police say he has simply slipped back into the world of terrorist crime.
The News Letter has obtained a leaked copy of the highly- confidential document which the MPs involved have drawn up about the subject and intend to read out at the debate.
In strong, unequivocal language, it lays bare the brutal facts about terrorist beatings and shootings in the Province and insists their continuance now threatens the peace process like never before.
It claims many people living on Ulster estates "face a situation of despair...organised gangs are operating a reign of terror, inflicting misery and
repression on ordinary people".
"The grip of the paramilitaries has now become a stranglehold with all opposition virtually silenced by threats," says the document.
"Many, although not all, community groupings or associations on the estates are virtually controlled by the paramilitaries or their representatives and dissent is not allowed."
But the main thread running through the document is the opinion that there is now widespread cynicism towards the peace process in the wake of so many intimidation attacks.
'The heady and public celebrations of the early days of the ceasefires have given way to widespread cynicism and a sense that the political process with its various talks and conferences is irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people. Discussions on decommissioning seem very distant from the facts of day-to-day living."
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Andrew McKay said he was personally prepared to name republican and loyalist killers.
"It's just not good enough for Mo Mowlam and her security minister Adam Ingram to urge people to report these incidents to the police. More has to be done to stop them."
A House of Commons source told the News Letter the terrorists on the list had been chosen because of the unlikelihood of them ever being prosecuted for their crimes.
"We've picked out these people because police claim they know they carried out a number of crimes, but fear they can never prove it in a court of law, because witnesses are simply too afraid to give evidence.
"But we want to ensure that the world knows what they have done after all. These terrorists cannot be allowed to impose their will on innocent, law-abiding people, and shoot, maim or kill to their heart's content.
"If the peace process is to survive then something has to be done to stop these people. We hope this dramatic step will start that ball rolling."
FAIT development officer, Vincent McKenna, is helping draw up the list of terrorists for MPs.
He said: "We really want to go for these boys and show that they can't get away with murder."
There have been only a handful of occasions in the Commons' history when MPs have named alleged terrorists.
In 1987 the Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone named a local republican he claimed was behind the IRA bombing in Enniskillen.
And in 1995 David Trimble named two senior IRA men in Belfast, describing them as the Provos' leading activists in Belfast.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/242
Published Date: 19-Jan-99
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