Loyalist paramilitaries vow to "support the rule of law"
"We declare that any engagement in criminal acts by any individuals within our organisations will be regarded as placing those persons outside the memberships." UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando
Last updated 9th Apr 2018
Loyalist paramilitary groups pledged today to “fully support the rule of law”.
In a joint statement the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando said they “emphatically condemn all forms of “criminal activity”.
It is the first time the three groups have made a statement together since the loyalist ceasefire in 1994.
Entitled, ‘A Loyalist Declaration of Transformation’, it was read out by former Church of Ireland Archbishop, Alan Harper (pictured) who was joined by a number of senior clergymen at an event in Belfast.
The statement said: “We fully support the rule of law in all areas of life and emphatically condemn all forms of criminal activity.
"Individuals who use criminality to serve their own interests at the expense of loyalist communities are an affront to the true principles of loyalism.
"We reject and repudiate as unacceptable and contrary to loyalist principles any criminal action claimed to have been undertaken in our name or attributed to any individual claiming membership of one of our organisations.
"We further declare that any engagement in criminal acts by any individuals within our organisations will be regarded as placing those persons outside the memberships. This has been collectively agreed.
"We cannot allow criminals to hinder transformation and the ground on which such people stand is now shrinking."
Chief Constable George Hamilton welcomed “the explicit commitment to peace and the Rule of Law” in the statement and he added:
“I would also acknowledge the hard work of those in progressive loyalism and encourage them to continue their efforts to completely remove illegal paramilitary organisations from our communities.
"Twenty years on from the Peace Agreement it is disappointing that we are still in a place where there are statements about paramilitary violence and criminality.
"Our communities do not want to live in fear of violence. The Loyalist Community Council must support people in giving information to the police.
"There are no grey areas when it comes to the Rule of Law."
But the chief constable vowed that the PSNI, through the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, would continue to “actively pursue and investigate those involved in violence and criminality and place them before the courts in order to protect society and keep people safe."