Peace process fails to halt punishment attacks
Paramilitary attacks on children have almost doubled since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, according to a report published today.
During 1999 and 2000, loyalist and republican ''punishment'' squads have targeted 47 people under the age of 18, compared with 25 in the previous two years.
The report says an anti-intimidation unit should be set up in the North and it urges General John de Chastelain’s decommissioning commission to monitor the scale of punishment attacks.
It also proposes that fines be imposed on political parties who are affiliated with the paramilitaries responsible for the attacks.
