Tuesday, October 04, 2005
So did his 'own side' shoot him and will someone else be blamed?
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a former leader in Northern Ireland's largest Protestant group on Tuesday, the most high-profile victim of a spate of violence among armed Protestant factions in the province.
Jim Grey, who survived an assassination attempt in 2002 and was ousted from the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in March, was killed outside his home in Belfast, said sources among the armed
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factions. Police declined to give any details.
Tensions are high among the province's Protestant majority despite an official report last month that the IRA, who draw support from the Roman Catholic community, had abandoned weapons used in three decades of fighting against British rule.
Violence and distrust has exacerbated difficulties facing the British and Irish governments in trying to persuade Protestant and Catholic politicians to restore a power-sharing, home-rule deal that collapsed in 2002.
Many Protestants, who want to maintain links with Britain, accuse the government of having made too many concessions to the IRA. Their resentment resulted last month in some of the worst rioting in Northern Ireland in years.
Television pictures showed Gray's body lying on the ground, his boots sticking out from under a blood-stained white sheet. Police cordoned off the area.
FEUDING PROTESTANT FACTIONS
A senior source among the Protestant armed factions said he was "99 percent sure" the killing of Grey, a former UDA head in east Belfast, was unrelated to a feud between Protestant groups.
"He was either shot as an internal issue by the UDA who have tried him for treason in the past or else it was somebody who had a grudge against him," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Grey, nicknamed "Doris Day" for his striking bleached blond hair and year-round suntan, had been on bail facing charges of money laundering.
At least four other people have been killed in the past few months as a result of rivalry between armed Protestant factions.
The Independent Monitoring Commission, set up by Britain and Ireland to rule whether groups are sticking to cease-fire pledges, said last month the feud between Protestant groups had "erupted in bloodthirsty thuggery".
It pointed the finger at the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force.
Peter Robinson, deputy leader of Northern Ireland's main Protestant political party, condemned the shooting.
"Those who take the law into their own hands have nothing to contribute to society," said Robinson, whose Democratic Unionist Party has taken a tough line over negotiating with Catholic politicians until it is satisfied the IRA has given up violence.
The UDA was formed in 1971 and during the three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland it mounted attacks on Catholics. It is widely estimated to have killed more than 400 people.
Ceasefires in the 1990s ended the worst of the violence in the province, but lasting peace remains elusive despite the so-called Good Friday peace agreement between Protestants and Catholics in 1998.
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I just wonder if the IRA which is really out of business now will get blamed...
Jim Grey, who survived an assassination attempt in 2002 and was ousted from the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in March, was killed outside his home in Belfast, said sources among the armed
Advertisement
factions. Police declined to give any details.
Tensions are high among the province's Protestant majority despite an official report last month that the IRA, who draw support from the Roman Catholic community, had abandoned weapons used in three decades of fighting against British rule.
Violence and distrust has exacerbated difficulties facing the British and Irish governments in trying to persuade Protestant and Catholic politicians to restore a power-sharing, home-rule deal that collapsed in 2002.
Many Protestants, who want to maintain links with Britain, accuse the government of having made too many concessions to the IRA. Their resentment resulted last month in some of the worst rioting in Northern Ireland in years.
Television pictures showed Gray's body lying on the ground, his boots sticking out from under a blood-stained white sheet. Police cordoned off the area.
FEUDING PROTESTANT FACTIONS
A senior source among the Protestant armed factions said he was "99 percent sure" the killing of Grey, a former UDA head in east Belfast, was unrelated to a feud between Protestant groups.
"He was either shot as an internal issue by the UDA who have tried him for treason in the past or else it was somebody who had a grudge against him," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Grey, nicknamed "Doris Day" for his striking bleached blond hair and year-round suntan, had been on bail facing charges of money laundering.
At least four other people have been killed in the past few months as a result of rivalry between armed Protestant factions.
The Independent Monitoring Commission, set up by Britain and Ireland to rule whether groups are sticking to cease-fire pledges, said last month the feud between Protestant groups had "erupted in bloodthirsty thuggery".
It pointed the finger at the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force.
Peter Robinson, deputy leader of Northern Ireland's main Protestant political party, condemned the shooting.
"Those who take the law into their own hands have nothing to contribute to society," said Robinson, whose Democratic Unionist Party has taken a tough line over negotiating with Catholic politicians until it is satisfied the IRA has given up violence.
The UDA was formed in 1971 and during the three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland it mounted attacks on Catholics. It is widely estimated to have killed more than 400 people.
Ceasefires in the 1990s ended the worst of the violence in the province, but lasting peace remains elusive despite the so-called Good Friday peace agreement between Protestants and Catholics in 1998.
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I just wonder if the IRA which is really out of business now will get blamed...
# posted by Katja R. @ 9:27 PM 
