The Five Demands

Almeno 10 le famiglie espulse dall’enclave lealista di Tiger’s Bay dall’UDA

Non è da ricercare nell’attività legata allo spaccio di droga il motore che spinge l’UDA a far piazza pulita di famiglie dall’area lealista, quanto piuttosto nella paranoia “di voler mettere più gente fuori da Tiger’s Bay di quanto non abbia mai fatto l’IRA“.
Di questo parere è Brian Madden, pastore dell’Elim Christian Centre, convinto che le espulsioni di almeno 10 famiglie dall’enclave di Tiger’s Bay sia probabilmente imputabile a “vendette personali vecchie di anni. Forse alcune di queste persone erano vecchi amici di Shoukri (un ex brigadiere UDA che viveva nella zona, recentemente tornato in libertà) o sono ad esse collegate in qualche modo e questa sarebbe la loro colpa”. “Stanno agendo come dei talebani”.
E’ risaputo che la comunità locale vorrebbe veder sparire l’UDA dalle proprie strade, ed ha questo proposito Brian Madden ha invitato il gruppo paramilitare lealista a dialogare. “Tutto quello che vogliamo fare è sedersi e parlare con loro in un modo ragionevole e giungere a una soluzione soddisfacente, in cui  si possa ottenere una comunità costruita piuttosto che distrutta”, perchè il deterrente a questo problema non è la PSNI. “Questioni locali richiedono la risoluzione locale. La polizia non può risolvere i problemi locali da sola senza il sostegno della comunità”, sottolinea il pastore.
Ma l’invito all’UDA è stato fino ad ora lasciato cadere nel vuoto.

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UDA urged to ‘sit down and talk’ (NewsLetter)
Calls have been made for the UDA leadership in north Belfast to “sit down and talk”, rather than continue to expel families “turning once thriving family areas into ghost towns”.
Pastor Brian Madden from the Elim Christian Centre said he knew that moves had been made to try to expel at least ten families from the loyalist enclave of Tiger’s Bay in recent weeks.
“The UDA’s paranoia is putting more people out of Tiger’s Bay than the IRA ever did,” he said.
“I know that two families have left the area in the past week and another two families are packing up to leave.
“These people are going to leave Tiger’s Bay a ghost town when it used to be a thriving family area.”
Mr Madden said he has invited UDA leaders to discuss what has happened.
“We have asked them to sit down and talk to us, but they have not come back to us yet.
“The reasons they are giving for telling people to leave the area is because they are drug dealers. But these are lies and excuses.
“What is being waged are personal vendettas from years ago. Maybe some of these people were old friends of the Shoukris (a former UDA brigadier who lived in the area) or are related to them in some way and that is their crime.
“But I live in the area and I have got my ear to the ground when it comes to drugs and these people are not drug dealers.”
Mr Madden added that “people in Tiger’s Bay do not want the UDA there”.
“The UDA are all about knee jerk reactions right now,” he said. “They are acting like the Taliban.
“But all we want to do is sit down and talk to them in a reasonable way and come to a satisfactory resolution where we can get the community built up rather than destroyed.
“But there is no one here to speak for the community. People are being threatened and bullied because they are going to victim’s group HELP for support. People in Tiger’s Bay do not want the UDA there.”
Last night a PSNI spokeswoman declined to comment directly on the claims.
She said: “When police are made aware of tensions in an area they will liaise with the local community representatives to discuss any concerns and seek a resolution.
“Local issues require local resolution. Police cannot resolve local issues alone without support from the community.
“Anyone with a particular concern or complaint should contact police directly and their concerns will be investigated.”
She added that police do not discuss the security of individuals but that they never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk.