Murder of Dissidents in Belfast another blow against Republicanism

by anon Sun Mar 18, 2007 22:34

They weren't members of or killed by the CIRA. Seems they were close to RIRA members and in fact had their own tiny paramilitary group called the Irish Peoples Liberation Army.

by Gan ainm Sun Mar 18, 2007 22:48

Not so sure about the above comment. The CIRA support base seems to believe they can palm off all their cock ups onto the Real IRA, this explains why they didnt have the decency to admit their role in the Omagh tragedy.
The two murdered men were connected to CIRA and that group is involved. Up until now the CIRA were just cocky, incompetent and arrogant but this latest development is just disgusting. Taylors response in the A/Town news was pathetic "were not afraid of anybody", two men are dead and thats all she could say.
Disgraceful absolutely disgraceful.

by S Murphy - none Mon Mar 19, 2007 03:43

..but they weren't CIRA, and most people are now admitting that, much to the chagrin of the storytellershoping so hard that people will believe that CIRA were involved, oddly enough its from so called Republicans as per usual.

by Barry - 32 csm Mon Mar 19, 2007 03:57

Most people certainly are not claiming these individuals were linked to RIRA , indeed you are the only person who is making this claim that Im aware of ( whileusing 2 different user names ).. Earlier in the week the INLA claimed the CIRA were responsible . The CIRA leadership hasnt issued any denial despite being accused in virtually every newspaper and television report .
These squalid killings are a disgrace and perfectly timed to boot . I noticed the editorial in the A Town news which basically admits that these killings have given the papers editors the excuse they were looking for to make it the papers policy from now on to encourage its readers to pass on information on republicans to the British police .
With that in mind Im wary of the motives of a poster who seems intent on making false claims that would give rise to further online bickering between republicans if taken seriously .

by Con Carroll Tue Mar 20, 2007 13:30

Fascists

by Con tradict Tue Mar 20, 2007 14:26

"fascists" ; oh please let's not get into this one.

Stupid, disgraceful, squalid, idiotic, brutal, yes. "fascist", no, that's something else altogether.

If you insist on bandying about terms with such imprecision, you strip them of their meaning and narrow the debate, giving these chumps a victory.

Drink, paramilitary groupuscules and guns. How's that for politics?

by gan ainm Tue Mar 20, 2007 15:45

Murdered man was behind CIRA death threats

Andersonstown News

By Ciarán Barnes

20/03/2007

Murdered father-of-three, Joe Jones was one of the men who last year provided the Andersonstown News with a list of alleged drug dealers under threat from the Continuity IRA.
The meeting took place near the Waterworks Park in North Belfast last September, just days after Conor Weldon had his leg blown off with a shotgun.
A former Continuity IRA member from Ballymurphy was responsible for the attack.
It is believe the same paramilitary murdered Joe Jones and Eddie Burns last week, and attempted to kill Damien O’Neill.
During his meeting with the Andersonstown News, Jones said he was speaking on behalf of the Continuity IRA.
He provided me with a list of names of alleged drug-dealers whom he said had been told to leave the country.
Jones warned that if they did not follow the order they would “end up like Weldon”, a reference to the Beechmount teenager who had his leg blown off a week earlier.
Both he and a second Continuity IRA member spoke with me for close to an hour.
We discussed the organisation’s armed capacity, its relationship with other republican groups, and why after virtually years of inactivity it had decided to start targeting hoodlums.
Jones replied that he felt a void existed in nationalist areas since the IRA gave up its guns. He claimed hoods felt they could do what they liked and needed to be taught a lesson.
I put it to him that punishment attacks were a thing of the past and that communities had moved on, but he disagreed.
After noting down the list of alleged drug dealers he said were under threat Jones used a recognised Continuity IRA code word.
In the weeks that followed around half a dozen people were targeted by the Continuity IRA in gun attacks in North and West Belfast.
Around Christmas, following a wave of condemnation, the organisation called an end to the punishment shootings.
Continuity IRA members, including Jones, apparently disagreed and broke away, setting up a splinter group which was responsible for shooting up three houses in Ardoyne last month.
A fallout among members of this gang, possibly over money, was the catalyst for the father of three’s brutal murder in an entry in Ardoyne last weekend.

Email to a friend

by tom Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:21

Who are the "Irish Peoples Liberation Army"?

by anon Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:39

IPLA is the tiny dissident paramilitary group to which the two dead men belonged. More a gang than a group. No idea what their politics are/were. These killings are probably evidence of the group's implosion.

by tom Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:46

How many armed Republican groups are there in Ireland at the moment? I count 6: CIRA, RIRA, PIRA, INLA, The Official IRA and The Irish People's Liberation Army.

by tony Wed Mar 21, 2007 15:26

You left out the Official Republican Movement and...........................Fianna Fail?

by gan ainm Wed Mar 21, 2007 15:59

As an ex Republican prisoner and activist i really dont want to make light of the concerns of the above posting. Lets keep the matter of chronic splintering serious before sombody jumps in with predictable monty python references.
Because the fact is physical force republicanism for better or worse shaped the lives of the people of Ireland. Citizens of loyal cork no longer trip over eachothers union jacks to catch a glimpse of his majesty, nor do the 'shawlees' in Dublin cheer their men on their way to be smoothied at the front, most (though not all) people regard the death of that slave mentality as a good thing, as well as being down to the efforts of the armed struggle.
In the north neither i nor my friends will ever again listen a cop in the street telling us to stand till some war vetran with a bugle finishes his national anthem. Once we wouldnt dare say no, now he wouldnt dare ask.
Again that is a good thing, again armed struggle was the catalyst in the change of heart.
But what has happened now is arguably the result of too much emphasis being put on the importance of the gun itself. I dont want to sound like a SF peacenick, basically because im not one and i'm not looking for a licence to enter a partitionist government.
Armies require obedience and an assertion of complete control over both a territory percieved to be your own and over those in the army.
Yet the potential for individuals to see things differently in a time of peace (which this is) leads inevitably to disagreements and diversions in behaviour which to an army pretending to be at war is intolerable, splits inevitably follow.
Of course fueds happened at the height of the war as well, i would put that down to the removal of the grass roots from the decision making process. No republican activist ever wanted a fued but most have witnessed one, why?
I believe it is possible for revolutionary groups to exist without the hierarchical structures that exist within traditional republican groups, examples exist within proven and credible anarchist organisations.
If this sounds silly ask yourself for how long can we percervere with army councils which both rely on and create egos capable of justifying taking a spade to the head of a comrade to the detriment of both the amy involved and the ideals in general.

by angry Tue Mar 27, 2007 21:26

the sunday tribune had a article by suzanne breen (need you ask) it did everything but give the full names of the so called suspects in the murders of joe and eddie. it also gave alegations that one of the accused was related to a republican family from ardoyne and the markets. this is rediculous. i know this family really well and can tell you that they are decent people and because of this article by ms breen another life might be lost eventually. this is an outrage

by Barry Wed Mar 28, 2007 04:30

unlike the various groups that emerged due to differences in ideology , new departures etc its incorrect to put this tiny outfit that adopted a name into that category .In a bid to win popular support and fill the vaccuum left by the provos move into constitutional nationalism members of the continuity organisation in Belfast engaged in a number of punishment attacks against people within nationalist areas they accused of criminal and anti social behaviour , publishing a list of people they were targetting . This culminated in a teenager named Conor Weldon being repeatedly blasted in the leg with a shotgun , resulting in his limb being amputated . The outrage this engendered led to the continuity expelling a number of their members in Belfast , despite not discouraging them from this activity beforehand. Those handful expelled simply christened themselves with a republican sounding title and carried on targetting those they claimed were hoods , presumably to give their activity the whiff of a political backdrop . Patriotism being the last refuge etc
Where this gets really confusing/sickening is that despite their expulsion those expelled remained close to members of their former organisation through personal and other ties , a number of whom approved of the gangs activities . This is against the backdrop of a conttinuity organisation in the city that is badly splintered into bickering factions and personalities anyway . That simply is a rsult of a continuity leadership , a self appointed army council that actually regards itself as the "legitimate government of Ireland" . Self appointed also in the sense that the continuity organisation has never held an army convention and elected any of its "army council" leaders , apparently chosen by virtue of their republican piety as guardians of the true faith . All of whom are middle aged and from southern and rural areas with absolutely no means whatsoever of controlling or enforcing any discipline or structure amongst the back streets of Belfast . Something the provisionals , the British intelligence services and various opportunistic criminals , wideboys and would be dictators have regularly taken full advantage of . After adopting a virtual open door policy as regards recruitment this was taken advantage of by individiuals with agendas oof their own , whether with provos and brits pulling the strings or simply thugs looking a badge of convenience to strut about the place . With the timing of the brutal murders in mind so advantageous to the provisionals and British states call for the British police to be supported , just days after the election , the hidden hand of the state and forces that support the state is not far away from this despicable debacle . This is also not the first squalid disaster to befall the continuity in Belfast and certainly will not be the last given its fractured , directionless nature bereft of any direction , leadership and seemingly purpose .