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CHIEF CONSTABLE OF the Police Service of Northern Ireland George Hamilton has said the Provisional IRA is no longer engaged in terrorism and its primary focus is on promoting a peaceful political agenda.
His comments come after PSNI Superintendent Kevin Geddes said one of the major lines of enquiry into the death of former IRA prisoner Kevin McGuigan’s is that “members of Provisional IRA were involved in this murder”.
Geddes said that a group called Action Against Drugs (AAD) is suspected of involvement in the murder and that current or former members of the Provisional IRA are suspected of being active in this group.
In a statement today Hamilton said he wished to being some clarification to the situation, commenting that some organisational infrastructure of the PIRA continues to exist but it has undergone “significant changes”.
We assess that in the organisational sense the Provisional IRA does not exist for paramilitary purposes. Nevertheless, we assess that in common with the majority of Northern Ireland paramilitary groups from the period of the conflict, some of the PIRA structure from the 1990s remains broadly in place, although its purpose has radically changed since this period.
He said the primary focus of the organisation is now promoting a peaceful, political Republican agenda.
It is our assessment that the Provisional IRA is committed to following a political path and is no longer engaged in terrorism.
However he did say that some current Provisional IRA and former members “continue to engage in a range of criminal activity and occasional violence in the interest of personal gain or personal agendas”.
In reference to the Action Against Drugs group, Hamilton confirmed some members were formerly involved with the PIRA while others have links to violent dissident republican groups and others are from a pure organised crime background.
This group is intent on taking action against what it perceives as anti-social elements in Belfast but this is done in pursuit of their own criminal agenda. They are little more than an organised crime group in my view and we assess that Action Against Drugs is an independent group that is not part of, or a cover name for the Provisional IRA.
He said this murder inquiry has shown connections between the group and some members of the PIRA. However he stressed there is no information to suggest that “violence, as seen in the murder of Kevin McGuigan, was sanctioned or directed at a senior level in the Republican movement”.
Following Hamilton’s statement, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said he did not accept these claims about the IRA.
The war is over. The IRA is gone and not coming back. This has been acknowledged and evidenced over the past 10 years. There is now a peaceful and democratic path to achieve republican objectives. This has the support of the vast majority of republicans and nationalists.
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“Give me unlimited power” but you don’t get to know what power I get until I have it
@Adam Rekio: They can hide from their incompetence behind these laws. Restrict peoples freedoms and make it seem like they’re doing a good job, but in reality they’re doing nothing to improve things in any sector that its needed for people to be able to “live with covid”. They’ve also now got people in to such a fearful state that the majority are willing to freely give up those freedoms and not ask questions. It has taken long enough for the opposition to start to ask these types of questions, I wonder will they be labelled anti-vaxxers now?!
@bob hope: whist or you’ll have the ‘what freedoms have we given up’ brigade then be laballed an anti vaxer for voicing an opinion that offends them as they do not want to acknowledge what is happening in front of their very eyes.
@Hear me now: Baa baa black sheep have you any wool!
It’s all about keeping control folks
@Maurice O Neill: can you expand?
@Paul Clancy: Join the dots yourself Einstein
@James Daly: all we ever hear is “it’s about control” no one has ever said exactly how. Simple one liners are the bread and butter of conspiracy theorist.
@Paul Clancy: I’m not helping you Paul. You’ll have to join the dots by yourself.
The emergency powers should have been phased out months ago. The vaccine uptake has been great. It’s ridiculous that these powers need to be extended again and again. Time to just live with Covid for everyone, vaccinated and non vaccinated. Its been two years.
Donnelly is so incompetent giving him free reign does seem a bit much….
Does no one else see how odd this is ? This makes no sense at all.
@Bobby Jones: Odd that it’s taken them so long to start asking questions about the violation of people’s civil liberties?
It almost like some crazy tin foil hat conspiracy theory that was only recently being ridiculed, just came to life…
@David Van-Standen: Next they will have to stop general elections as it could spread covid
@Adam Rekio: there’s a reason there hasn’t been election in quite some time.
@neuromancer: since last year,you mean?
@Adam Rekio: not possible to stop them.
I think we’re going down the wrong road with this. This is dangerous. There are precedents being set here. Under no circumstances should any elected official have powers that are not open to scrutiny. It only takes one headbanger to abuse these powers and you’re living in tyranny where discrimination and coercion are the norm. Minorities will be isolated and redeculed. Bodily integrity will become meaningless.Your freedom of choice will be out the window. Who wants to live in a world like that.
@James Daly: have an old read of the constitution. You’re some man for scare mongering.
@Paul Clancy: sure the constitution gives you your fundimental rights but, and big but.. Fundamental rights are not absolute – they can be limited or restricted by the Oireachtas for certain reasons, for example, for the common good or public order. Then all bets are off. The safeguards against headbangers like Donnelly abusing his position in such instances are debate and scrutiny. Exactly what he doesn’t want to happen. Wonder why?
Donnelly is like a dog with two knobs at this stage…. Too much control for one TD to hold and that’s the problem with this whole Covid crapola show is for all parties to work together to find solutions not just the ones that hold the house….
How has it taken two years for opposing TD’s to start asking the right questions. The mind boggles how we have people out there that are “fully vaccinated “and are supporting these restrictions. These are the types of klowns that start their comments with “ I’ve had my two jabs and I’m getting my booster on Wednesday “
Smacking of arrogance as this undoubtedly does and desirable as it would be to have Dáil scrutiny would it make any difference to the outcome? Most T.D.’s are terrified of speaking out in any meaningful way against these emergency powers in case they’re labelled ‘anti-science’ or of playing politics with people’s health and lives. It’s a very easy stick to beat them with. It would definitely be interesting though to see how it would go…
@William Tallon: Any decision any government makes should be open to scrutiny, and any resistance to that scrutiny should set more alarm bells ringing than the decisions themselves. TDs are only people who are in the position they’re in because of people who voted them in to the position. Some people go on like they’re gods who must be obeyed at all costs!
@bob hope: Not all Government decisions are open to scrutiny though. Article 28.4 of the Constitution states “The confidentiality of discussions at meetings of the Government shall be respected in all circumstances save only where the High Court determines that disclosure should be made in respect of a particular matter…” I think this is a principle most democratic governments subscribe to and probably for good reason in many cases. That doesn’t mean by the way I don’t favour more transparency…
@William Tallon: That states Government discussions, and not decisions. Regardless this would be superceded by our own constitutional rights and civil liberties, hence the reason why things like this need to be backed by a majority in a vote by TDs and other levels, and hence the argument at hand. They also need to be signed off by the President, who only recently raised a concern about some of the things being pushed through by this government without the time for proper scrutiny. Without a doubt trying to take advantage of the situation as it is and the penny ot seems is only starting to drop in certain quarters!
@bob hope: Discussions are a prerequisite for decisions so if you want to scrutinise Government decisions you’ll need to know how they were arrived at which would mean having access to those Cabinet level discussions and that is precluded by the Constitution. So far as I can tell there is no other provision in the Constitution that grants the individual the right to supersede this provision. I’d be interested to know if you’re aware of such a provision though.
@William Tallon: It’s one of the main principles of democracy, so will always supercede any decisions that go against that principle. I wouldn’t have thought that would need an explanation?
“Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said to have debate and scrutiny on the emergency legislation would more or less take 33 weeks, six hours a day, three days a week.” – I don’t see how it would take that long. I liked Donnelly when he was an SD, I was skeptical when he jumped ship to FF but decided I would give him a chance, he’s had his chance now and has proved to be useless and a hypocrite
Where was Alan Kelly from Labour in this debate? No word from him about democracy and Civil Rights?
If there is hope it lies in the proles.
Paradoxical that
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