Funding threat over loyalist arms

[Aindriu]

Government funding of a loyalist initiative is to stop in 60 days unless the UDA starts to decommission arms.

From BBC news. Full story http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6939636.stm

[st333ve]

The funding shouldnt have went near the UDA in the first place, they are the ones keeping the deprived loyalist working class community down.
This money should go directly into the community for services not handed into the hands of gangsters.

[BuachaillBeo]

glad to see it happening.... idiotic idea in the first place

[st333ve]

Good idea helping out deprived communities, unbelievably stupid idea handing the money to the drug dealers and armed thugs.
Cant believe this happened in the first place.

[PatMcL]

The funding shouldnt have went near the UDA in the first place, they are the ones keeping the deprived loyalist working class community down.
This money should go directly into the community for services not handed into the hands of gangsters.

Exactly, it is not beyond the wit of the Executive to initiate a programme, as a matter of urgency, that helps develop community based leadership within the deprived unionist communities. It is patently obvious government money needs to be spent in these areas and consequently those areas should not suffer because some idiotic (direct rule) minister chose to funnel the cash through the UDA.
Margaret Ritichie was handed a poisoned chalice with that decision and is caught in a frying pan and fire situation.

[st333ve]

Heres a strange spin on the story, Alex Maskey SF has said that they are making a mistake stoping the funding.

http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth ... 84126&pt=n

He said it was a fundamental mistake to link money for deprived loyalist communities to the behaviour of the UDA.

"Where there is poverty, social exclusion and weak community infrastructure, government obviously has a responsibility to act.

"Sinn Fein supports money going to deprived areas. However, funding must be based on objective need and be properly accounted for.



Maybe he has a point, removing the funding all together isnt going to stop the territorial feuds, the money needs to be used for the community, they are the ones getting attacked by these thugs.

[Aindriu]

Heres a strange spin on the story, Alex Maskey SF has said that they are making a mistake stoping the funding.

http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth ... 84126&pt=n

He said it was a fundamental mistake to link money for deprived loyalist communities to the behaviour of the UDA.

"Where there is poverty, social exclusion and weak community infrastructure, government obviously has a responsibility to act.

"Sinn Fein supports money going to deprived areas. However, funding must be based on objective need and be properly accounted for.



Maybe he has a point, removing the funding all together isnt going to stop the territorial feuds, the money needs to be used for the community, they are the ones getting attacked by these thugs.

A good point, St333ve. The problem would be though that there would be a risk of the UDA thugs intimidating those groups who were given the funding. Protection money and all that bollix.

[st333ve]

Everyones jumping on the bandwagon here, its all good and well preventing money getting into the hands of armed loyalists but very little or no mention attention has went to the community the money is intended to help.

Ironically its a shinner highlighting the issue,

Dermot Ahern,Hugh Orde,Margret Richie,David Ford.. are all calling for a complete stop to the funding, probobly just looking for publicity for speaking out aginst loyalist thugs but ignoring the real issue.

The funding needs to be distributed in a better way, and kept out of the hands of the thugs, if the funding is completely removed from the deprived area then the loyalist thugs will be responsible for further depriving the loyalist community.

Why not build a youth club, or library or something instead.

Ms Richie stated that if they disarm they will still recieve the money, disarmed or not they shouldnt be getting money!
Even if they did "disarm" would that really prevent their thuggery anyway?
Basically this daft notion states that if loyalists put down their guns and pick up baseball bats instead they will recieve millions of pounds

[ON THE ONE ROAD]

how is it ironic a shinner highlighted it? it's the same stupid metality that was used towards republician areas for decades. marget rithie is a tick. who do you think people on the shankill are going to blame if a youth club or a liberary dosn't get funding, the UDA! yeah right. They'll be the campions of the piece. middle class people should stick to playing golf

[st333ve]

how is it ironic a shinner highlighted it?

Its ironic as their own political representitives havent mentioned keeping the funding in the area for those who need it.
The UDA wont decomission, even if it did the money shouldnt go anywhere near them, it should still be put into the community in such a way that it benefits the victims of these thugs, and doesnt fill the UDA's pockets.
The UDA have been pretending to be "good guy" terrorists to these gullible unionists in order to gain some control over this money.
Now the media is all over them, theyre shown for what they are and people are scrambling to prove who can come down hardest on them instead of actually realising the whole idea behind the money in the first place.