Paramilitaries must be cut off from their coffers, says MP

East Antrim MP Roy Beggs has argued that society can only "begin to thwart terrorist activities" by ensuring that paramilitary organisations are "cut off from their coffers".

Speaking in yesterday afternoon's House of Commons debate on a report from the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee entitled 'The Financing of Terrorism in Northern Ireland', Mr Beggs said that while many people outside the province believed terrorism had come to an end in recent years, "the people of Northern Ireland however know that this is not the case".

He added: "One only has to read the newspapers to see that paramilitary activities remain rife within both traditions. Murders, threats, beatings and forced exiles are reported on a daily basis. Terrorism quite clearly remains a feature of life for many in Northern Ireland.

"Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that despite the ceasefires, paramilitary activity not only continues but has expanded in recent years to include such organised criminal activities as fuel smuggling and counterfeiting. Whether paramilitary activity is directed outwards towards society at large, or inwards towards the communities in which the paramilitaries live, they still constitute acts of terror."

The Ulster Unionist Chief Whip also told MPs of a new report by Professor Liam Kennedy, entitled 'They shoot children don't they?', which highlights many horrific cases from the past year - where children and young people have been shot, assaulted or abused by paramilitaries.

"One particularly harrowing incident, in March of this year, involved two youths - 14 and 15 years old, who were chained to a lamppost for public display and humiliation," he said.

"They were stripped to the waist, chained by the ankles and waist to the street light and had oil, tar and paint poured over them. Their crimes? Anti-social behaviour. But their punishment - carried out by the INLA - was positively barbaric."

He added: "We cannot sit back and allow such brutality to continue unabated. Paramilitary activities must be stopped. And quite clearly, an effective way of doing just that is to cut the paramilitary organisations off from their coffers. Only then can we begin to thwart terrorist activities and move towards ridding society of their menace for good."

Mr Beggs also called on the government to look more closely at the levels of protection given to witnesses in trials involving terrorist activities. He told MPs that only 10% of extortion cases in Northern Ireland are reported to the police and added that "this figure could be increased if measures were in place to better protect the anonymity of witnesses and their families".

"The government has undoubtedly made some significant steps to combat organised crime in Northern Ireland by developing its strategy against terrorism. It is however important that these advances continue to be followed through.

"It is only then, when the paramilitaries have gone away for good, that Northern Ireland and all its people can live in peace without the fear of terrorism," he concluded.

(MB)