Plea to loyalist paramilitaries - Reid
Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid tonight pleaded with loyalist paramilitaries to ditch their violence and take up politics.
Dr Reid directed his appeal at factions who have still to follow the path taken by the Progressive Unionist Party, which is linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force.
He said: ‘‘If you could bring yourself, even at this stage, to say we will desist from attacks that have been going on you will have begun to make a contribution to the future prosperity not only to Catholics but to your own Protestant community.’’
The Secretary of State’s bid to end the trouble which still erupts in parts of the North came as he addressed the nationalist SDLP party’s conference in Newcastle, Co Down.
‘‘It doesn’t take any courage, physically or morally to throw a pipe bomb. It doesn’t take any great inner strength to use a gun,’’ he said.
‘‘But it takes a great deal of physical and moral courage in the midst of that to say we will resolve this by politics and not by violence.
‘‘That’s what takes courage and that’s why I’m eternally grateful for the role the SDLP has played and will continue to play.’’
He paid tribute to the contribution made by SDLP leader John Hume and his deputy Seamus Mallon, who are both stepping down at this year’s conference.
‘‘Their contribution to re-shaping the political landscape of Northern Ireland has been immense.’’
Dr Reid told SDLP delegates that the Good Friday Agreement cannot survive without unionists, who have been confronted with their own pain and challenges.
‘‘Just as they are indispensable to the future of the peace process in Northern Ireland I believe that the peace process is indispensable to the chance of a successful unionism in future,’’ he said.
In an attack on hardliners plotting to wreck Northern Ireland’s devolved institutions, he added: ‘‘To abuse from the sidelines, to barrack on the terracing may be a spectacle for the TV cameras, but it very rarely alters the score on the pitch.’’
