The Five Demands

Si ipotizza un coinvolgimento del gruppo Loyalist Action Force negli attacchi settari messi a segno a Ballymena lo scorso fine settimana. NewsLetter rivela di non aver pubblicato un comunicato dell’organizzazione paramilitare ma di averlo consegnato nelle mani della polizia

Nel 2005, i nazionalisti di West Belfast avevano sostenuto che Loyalist Action Force fosse un nome di copertura per l’UDA. Il gruppo paramilitare lealista torna ora sotto i riflettori dopo che la PSNI ha rivelato indagini in corso per stabilirne l’eventuale coinvolgimento negli attacchi che hanno turbato l’area di Ballymena lo scorso week end.
Artificieri dell’esercito erano stati chiamati ad intervenire nel pomeriggio della scorso domenica dopo il ritrovamento di oggetto sospetto all’esterno della St Paul’s Primary School in Ballynafie Road a Ahoghill.
E’ stata poi la volta di una pipe bomb in un club GAA in Gortgole Road a Portglenone – trovata da un bambino –  e di una terza presso un centro comunitario in Crosskeys Road tra Ballymena e Ahoghill.
NewsLetter ha rivelato di aver ricevuto poco prima di natale una dichiarazione firmata LAF con cui il gruppo paramilitare lealista giurava di “scendere in piazza” in risposta agli attacchi contro le Orange Hall e contro la minaccia repubblicana in generale.
Obiettivi di pipe bombs e booby trap bomb della Loyalist Action Force potrebbero essere chiese cattolice, centri e club del GAA.
Il gruppo ha inoltre promesso che monitorerà i movimenti dei leaders repubblicani, escludendo anche un qualsiasi coinvolgimento lealista in attività di racket e spaccio di droghe. Nella dichiarazione la LAF rivela una rete di cellule a  Ballymena, Ballyclare, Larne,  nel Mid-Ulster e oltre.
Il comunicato non era mai stato pubblicato da NewsLetter, che aveva provveduto a consegnarlo nelle mani del Police Service Of Northern Ireland.

Pipe bomb probe into ‘loyalist involvement’ (NewsLetter)
Police are investigating the possibility that a group calling itself the Loyalist Action Force may have been behind three viable pipe bombs found in the Ballymena area over the weekend.
Army explosives experts were called in on Sunday afternoon after a suspicious object was discovered by a member of the public outside St Paul’s Primary School on the Ballynafie Road in Ahoghill.
A similar object was found by a child at a GAA club on the Gortgole Road in Portglenone and the third was at a community centre on the Crosskeys Road between Ballymena and Ahoghill.
Just before Christmas, a group using the name Loyalist Action Force sent a statement to the News Letter vowing “to take to the streets” in response to attacks on Orange halls and the general threat from dissident republicans.
It claimed to have had a recruitment boost and to be training young men to target Roman Catholic churches, businesses and GAA clubs with pipe bombs and car boobytraps.
It also voted to monitor the movements of dissident republican leaders and said it had no interest in racketeering or drugs. And it claimed to have cells in Ballymena, Ballyclare, Larne, Mid-Ulster “and beyond”.
The News Letter did not publish the statement but passed it to the PSNI.
Yesterday, the PSNI confirmed it was aware of the statement and that loyalist involvement was one line of inquiry.
“While police are aware of this statement, inquiries into yesterday’s incidents are at a very early stage and loyalist involvement is only one possible line of inquiry,” a PSNI spokesman said.
“Information from the public is vital in helping police identify the people responsible. The investigating officers can be contacted on 0845 600 8000.”
The Loyalist Action Force is a title that has been used to issue threats and plant bombs – in 2001 in Portstewart and Glengormley in 2003. In 2005, nationalists in West Belfast claimed it was a cover name for the UDA; the Loyalist Action Force was a title used to issue threats after the West Belfast Taxi Association announced plans to extend its routes into Glengormley.
All three pipe bomb devices discovered on Sunday in the Bannside area of Ballymena were “crude, dangerous and viable” the district police chief told the Ballymena Times yesterday.
Temporary chief superintendent Nigel Goddard also revealed that he believed the three incidents to be linked, given that “all the devices were similar in nature”.
He believed all the devices to be from the same source, pointing out: “If you look at the targets, that would be the natural conclusion.”
Ballymena Mayor Maurice Mills condemned the attacks.
“Any acts of violence committed to advance a political or religious cause reap no long-term benefit and cause considerable anguish to those caught up in the incidents,” he said.
SDLP South Antrim MLA Declan O’Loan said the public needed more information.
“We need to know the best PSNI assessment of who is responsible and what is the potential for further threats,” he said.