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Penalties for parties with paramilitary links

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  • 20-04-2004 3:50pm
    #1
    cruiserweight
    Registered Users Posts: 5,307 ✭✭✭


    This was announced today(.http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0420/north.html ). What do people think? I think that such actions are a step forward for democracy in this island.

    From RTE:

    Penalties for parties with paramilitary links

    20 April 2004 15:04
    The British government has announced sanctions are to be imposed on Sinn Féin and the Progressive Unionist Party in response to continuing IRA and loyalist paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland.

    The move follows the publication this afternoon of a report by the Independent Monitoring Commission, which recommended action against the two parties.

    The Northern Secretary, Paul Murphy, said the funding that the parties receive from the British government will be cut.



    The four-man monitoring commission is part of a plan by the two governments for restoring devolution, which was suspended in October 2002 amid allegations of IRA intelligence gathering at Stormont.

    Following the publication of the report, the British government has announced it accepted the commission's conclusions and recommendations. It said the conclusions painted a 'disturbing picture in relation to paramilitary and criminal activity'.

    In a statement, it said it acknowledged the 'constructive contributions' made by various parties in advancing the peace process to this point, but said that the transition to exclusively democratic means must be completed.

    Ahern disturbed by report

    The Taoiseach has described the IMC report as extremely disturbing and worrying.

    Bertie Ahern said that he accepted the report's main findings that leading members of Sinn Féin were also leading members of the Provisional IRA.

    He told journalists that if the paramilitary organisations were involved in criminality in the North, they were also involved in criminality in the South.

    Mr Ahern said that a number of months ago he referred to the fact that the Provisional IRA had been involved in criminality in Dublin Port, and added that today he still believes that.


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