IRA back to violence?!?!?!

BBC Ulster, happened last night. Not sure if she is talking about the PIRA or RIRA/CIRA



This is what has interested (alarmed) reporters...

Ms Burns has said she believes the IRA was responsible for the attack.

news.bbc.co.uk...

But I am not sure if she is talking about the Provisional IRA (this is the main group who were responsible for terrorist attacks over the last 30 years)

However, if it is the PIRA...it will be interesting to hear what Gerry Adams has to say and the British government.

other incidents that happened yesterday..

A live mortar and launching tube have been found by security personnel in Co Armagh.

The device was found at Cornakinnegar Road just north of Lurgan last night.
A PSNI spokesman said the discovery was made during an ongoing operation. Army bomb disposal officers were called to the scene and remained there for a number of hours. The main railway line to Dublin was closed from just after 4pm with cross border passengers being bussed between stations in Moira and Lurgan.

Police said the line was reopened shortly after 7.45pm.

Mayor of Craigavon Kenneth Twyble described the find as worrying.

Belfast Telegraph

Before Sinn Fein agreed to support police, Gerry Adam went public with fears that some elements of the Provisional IRA would give "support" to dissidents who do not support mainstream republicanism.

Both Irish and British security teams fear that dissidents have become stronger now and have kept to their goal of staying as a terrorist group. RIRA and CIRA both have the ability to strike the British mainland.

However, the PSNI and Gardia (Repubic of Ireland police) have done a fantastic job over the last few months. Dissidents may be planning something, but the police are doing a great job

news.bbc.co.uk...

I think anything we see these days will be from the very tiny splinter groups on either side.
There's just no reason (even accepting the 'logic' sometimes employed) for anyone (serious) to return to conflict.

Irish republicans (along with the others) have succeeded in getting devolved Gov up and running in NI, their mandate is respected and they hold several substantive Ministerial positions in that Gov and have even the Paisley-ite wing of Unionism working this with them and operating genuine 'North-South' inter-Governmental bodies.

In addition to this the British and Irish Govs are enjoying meaningful and cooperative relations probably as never before - both between themselves generally and in relation to NI.

It's also fairly common knowledge that the various dissident groups are well penetrated by the security services on both sides of the border - which is how come so many devices get 'found' or intercepted or fail to work as they were expected to.

Now that Sinn Fein and the IRA are to support Policing here one can only guess at how much less 'secure' those splinter groups can be.......republicans, like their loyalist counterparts, are traditionally a fairly tight-knit bunch.

The arms 'finds' are almost always interesting.
I am reminded of comments made some years ago when decommissioning was being argued over and had not been (officially) begun.
Several large arms finds were being made (with some regularity) at the time (1998-on).
There were those that hinted that those 'finds' were no accident and that decommissioning had begun but not been admitted to.

The dissident groups will probably continue to be a, hopefully low-key, annoyance for some time but with luck a pretty neutered one.

In a wider sense we also probably have to endure for a while yet the working out of the various 'score-settling' that has undoubtedly been going on - and which probably will go on for some time yet.

I don't believe for a moment that any of this will have been 'sanctioned' by either Sinn Fein or, for as long as it exists, (which I do not expect to be very long - IMO we're talking no more than a year or 2 provided no one is stupid) the IRA 'army council'.

Basically everybody (except the tiny fringe) has come too far and gained too much to toss it all away now.

I just hope my take on matters is correct.

The IRA army council needs to go asap really.
A BBC reporter asked Gerry Adams about and he replied by calling that a "stupid question".

The problem with the IRA, is not the senior members, but the members who did ask Sinn Fein not to support policing in Northern Ireland. Thus, some did threaten to start working with dissidents.

But, as you kinda put it, mainstream republicans have to be REALLY stupid to lunch any terrorist style attack now. It would cost them everything.

However, many feel that it will all start up again but is likely to be over drugs or something, meaning the former paramilitaries become more like drug cartels.

Originally posted by infinite
The IRA army council needs to go asap really.

- I would welcome that myself, but, given the events we have seen in the last couple of years I don't think we really need yet another attempt at 'moving the goalposts'.

I'm pretty sure they will go, but I see no need to create unnecessary difficulties when they need not exist.

A BBC reporter asked Gerry Adams about and he replied by calling that a "stupid question".

- Yes but I happened to be watching that interview and Adams' point was that he wanted to talk about the agreement(s) announced and made with the DUP that day, march 28th.

He did not want not rake over the ground that DUP MEP Jim Allister had laid out with his resignation on march 27th.

If you saw it infinite you'd also have seen Adams saying that in time (and he said it would not be a very long period) we would all see "the remaining issues addressed" - and in the part left off of the Real Video clip "even to Jim Allister's satisfaction"
- and that's a direct quote from my memory even tho, amazingly (or not depending on your POV ) , the BBC report doesn't carry that part of what he said.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Make of that what you will but given the context of what has recently been achieved then I think Adams dismissing those comments and wanting to concentrate on the positive news of the day was perfectly understandable.

The problem with the IRA, is not the senior members, but the members who did ask Sinn Fein not to support policing in Northern Ireland. Thus, some did threaten to start working with dissidents.

- Well obviously it's undeniable that there is a dissident element and they will undoubtedly be a problem for a while......and as I said earlier we also have to contend with 'score-settling' (on all sides).

But I also think this can be over-played, we saw a republican rally calling for Sinn Fein not to support Policing in Derry that was fairly well attended before the Sinn Fein change on Policing.
But we also saw within a couple of days a far larger republican meeting in Derry supporting the proposed changes.

It's also worth remembering that it's perfectly possible for people not to 'support' the Sinn Fein position on Policing and to even speak out against it without that automatically meaning one is either a 'dissident terrorist' type or a supporter of dissident terrorism.

But, as you kinda put it, mainstream republicans have to be REALLY stupid to lunch any terrorist style attack now. It would cost them everything.

- Agreed. North and South.......and Sinn Fein's ambitions south of the border are not to be over-looked in this, it's perfectly plausible to imagine them as part of the next coalition Gov in the RoI thanks to these 'normalising' moves they have made
(and it's also why I am so sure that the IRA 'Army Council' is set to be disbanded.
I can see the IRA being little more than an old boys club in future and I'd be happy to see it left alone at that.)

.....and that's fine by me, I wish to see them pursue a purely political agenda, I thought we all did?

It's also something to bear in mind that they are far from alone in Irish politics (North and South) in having connections to the most extremely unpleasant episodes in our history.

However, many feel that it will all start up again but is likely to be over drugs or something, meaning the former paramilitaries become more like drug cartels.

- Well on the so-called 'loyalist' side that has been pretty much the position.

......and if that is how this is to end then so be it.
A bunch of vicious, greedy and petty mafia wannabe parasites preying on 'their own communities' is going to be a hell of a lot easier to take down than solving the 'latent civil war' we have just suffered where large sections (if not quite all) of each community genuinely felt they had justice on their side.


[edit on 7-4-2007 by sminkeypinkey]

I thought with Sin Feinne and who is the other party Under Ian Paisley, forming a coalition for the NI Assembly would have put a stop to the violence, (if it was the IRA), have not seen anything major being reported on the news........

Thought it was funny the Northern Ireland Secretary, being asked to pack his bags and leave soon ...........

[edit on 7-4-2007 by spencerjohnstone]

Hopefully they won't go back down the violent path.

Compare Northern Ireland today to twenty or thirty years ago. On the news today you see people in pubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas, clubs, theatres... enjoying themselves and going out without fear. The economy in Northern Ireland is also booming in comparison, and permanent peace is finally in sight. Twenty or thirty years ago you'd have people living in fear requiring British soldiers to patrol the streets.

If you truly cared about Irish people - regardless of what you thought of Northern Ireland being part of the UK and not the Republic - then you'd see that making life hell for the residents of Northern Ireland is not the way to go forward. It's discussion, debate and (most of all) the wishes of those who live in Northern Ireland.

Originally posted by spencerjohnstone
Thought it was funny the Northern Ireland Secretary, being asked to pack his bags and leave soon ...........

- The DUP & Sinn Fein, having agreed the necessary steps to recommence the devolved NI administration, asked the NI SoS Peter Hain to vacate his Stromont offices sj, something which was a normal, agreed and expected part of the return of devolution.

That's not quite the same thing as the NI SoS being asked to pack his bags and go.

Martin McGuinness told the conference that his first meeting with Mr Paisley "went very well".

"I have to say that my meeting with Ian Paisley was first-class and his attitude, his approach, during the course of the meeting, as it was during the course of the meeting last Monday, could not have been better," Mr McGuinness said.

He said they even appeared to share a joke when they both signed a letter asking Secretary of State Peter Hain to leave his Stormont office.

"I asked him (Mr Paisley) was this the beginning of a new 'Brits out' strategy on behalf of the DUP, and he smiled," he said.

December 1999 was the last time the party leaders agreed to select their departments.

This time around, the leaders of the four main parties are expected to meet behind closed doors and take turns selecting departments, under the d'Hondt formula.

Mr Paisley is expected to select finance as his first choice, while Mr Adams has not yet indicated what his choice will be.

Secretary of State Peter Hain has promised to give ministers-in-waiting access to their departments.

At the weekend he also agreed to a request from Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness to hand over offices at Stormont Castle.

Last week, in a ground-breaking meeting at Stormont, Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams agreed to share power in a restored NI Assembly on 8 May.

news.bbc.co.uk...

I just wanted to say that the first attack that Infinite mentions in this thread is a long running feud between two famlies. These families happen to be from opposite ends of the republican spectrum. One family are Provisionals the other are Continuity IRA (IIRC). This feud came to a head after the brutal murder of a man last year. Just because the the family members are also members of paramilitary organisations doesn't mean that these attacks were sanctioned by the leaders of these organisations. Just my two pennies worth.

thank you for adding to the thread mzrti

i was unaware of the feuding families, reminds of a mafia type group waiting to happen.