Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, called today for the Northern Ireland Secretary Dr Reid to "stop the nonsense" and declare the UDA ceasefire over.
Speaking to ireland.comat the Sinn Féin ard fheis in Dublin, Mr McGuinness said it was time for the British government to show leadership to the "many good people" within unionism who were in a position to pressurise loyalist paramilitaries into decommissioning their weapons.
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The call follows the murder in Lurgan, Co Armagh last night of
Sunday World
journalist, Mr Martin O’Hagan. The loyalist Red Hand defenders, as cover-name used in the past by the LVF and the UDA, have claimed responsibility for the killing.
"Dr Reid made a fool of himself yesterday by his failure to declare the UDA ceasefire over," Mr McGuinness alleged. "As far as I am concerned, there is no difference whatsoever and you all know this between the UDA, the Red Hand Defenders, the Orange Volunteers or the LVF."
"It’s time for the nonsense to stop. The British government must declare the ceasefire over and offer leadership to the many good people in the unionist campcommunity who I do believe will stand up and put pressure on these organisations to stop their activities."
Dr Reid said yesterday the Ulster Defence Association had called a halt to violence by its members across Northern Ireland and declared its ceasefire was still intact.
He said he was prepared to declare the UDA ceasefire over but said it was communicated to him the group recognised the damage violence had done and had decided to call a halt to it.