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| How the republican dissidents delivered their statement of unity | How the republican dissidents delivered their statement of unity |
| (4 months later) | |
| In the dark isolation of a dirt track just across the border in the Irish republic the 15 minutes seemed like a lifetime. I had been dropped near a disused farmhouse after being driven at top speed out of Derry city centre close to the Bogside, the neighbourhood that bears most of the scars of the Troubles. | In the dark isolation of a dirt track just across the border in the Irish republic the 15 minutes seemed like a lifetime. I had been dropped near a disused farmhouse after being driven at top speed out of Derry city centre close to the Bogside, the neighbourhood that bears most of the scars of the Troubles. |
| The instructions were firm, the tone cold: walk down, parallel to the city's ancient walls, wait for a car to stop, get in, say nothing and be taken to the destination. | The instructions were firm, the tone cold: walk down, parallel to the city's ancient walls, wait for a car to stop, get in, say nothing and be taken to the destination. |
| The republican dissidents who oppose the peace process were going to extraordinary lengths to deliver a statement about a development in their armed campaign; their insistence on security, and insurance that in the process they were not being tailed was extremely thorough. | The republican dissidents who oppose the peace process were going to extraordinary lengths to deliver a statement about a development in their armed campaign; their insistence on security, and insurance that in the process they were not being tailed was extremely thorough. |
| Once delivered I was left in the darkness with only a few distant lights from a farmhouse giving off a faint glow in the distance. In that period alone I thought about several trips over the years to places like this around the Irish borderland when I reported on bodies found at the end of similar narrow roads and muddy tracks, usually men accused of informing on republican paramilitaries who had ended up with a bullet in the back of the head. | Once delivered I was left in the darkness with only a few distant lights from a farmhouse giving off a faint glow in the distance. In that period alone I thought about several trips over the years to places like this around the Irish borderland when I reported on bodies found at the end of similar narrow roads and muddy tracks, usually men accused of informing on republican paramilitaries who had ended up with a bullet in the back of the head. |
| Another vehicle pulled up. A man I had never seen before got out and handed over a typed statement revealing that the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs and an amalgam of other disparate armed republican groups, were coalescing into a single unified force. | Another vehicle pulled up. A man I had never seen before got out and handed over a typed statement revealing that the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs and an amalgam of other disparate armed republican groups, were coalescing into a single unified force. |
| After the contents of the statement were taken on a notepad the communiqué was burned at the side of the road. There were no mobile phones or recording devices allowed at this bizarre encounter. The digital era is perceived as posing new threats to the security of terror groups in Ireland in terms of their being tracked and covertly recorded. | After the contents of the statement were taken on a notepad the communiqué was burned at the side of the road. There were no mobile phones or recording devices allowed at this bizarre encounter. The digital era is perceived as posing new threats to the security of terror groups in Ireland in terms of their being tracked and covertly recorded. |
| Later, back in Derry, it became apparent how significant this scenario could turn out to be in terms of the intent of those republicans opposed to the power-sharing political settlement in Northern Ireland. | Later, back in Derry, it became apparent how significant this scenario could turn out to be in terms of the intent of those republicans opposed to the power-sharing political settlement in Northern Ireland. |
| Up till this week anti-ceasefire republicanism had been almost fatally weakened by two factors: lack of support within nationalist communities and the disparate, fractious, nature of these factions. | Up till this week anti-ceasefire republicanism had been almost fatally weakened by two factors: lack of support within nationalist communities and the disparate, fractious, nature of these factions. |
| They have tried to address the first difficulty by attempting to build a support base in working-class housing estates such as Derry's Creggan, Galliagh and Bogside. | They have tried to address the first difficulty by attempting to build a support base in working-class housing estates such as Derry's Creggan, Galliagh and Bogside. |
| The terror campaign by Republican Action Against Drugs, with the shooting and forcible exiling of young men accused (without any judge, jury or legal framework) of drug dealing, is partly designed to create sympathy among communities fearful that harder drugs could flood into their areas. | The terror campaign by Republican Action Against Drugs, with the shooting and forcible exiling of young men accused (without any judge, jury or legal framework) of drug dealing, is partly designed to create sympathy among communities fearful that harder drugs could flood into their areas. |
| The hysteria, with fears that places like Derry may ultimately become as drug-infested as say the heroin-ravaged parts of Dublin in the south, has reached the level of 17th century witchcraft paranoia. | The hysteria, with fears that places like Derry may ultimately become as drug-infested as say the heroin-ravaged parts of Dublin in the south, has reached the level of 17th century witchcraft paranoia. |
| On top of portraying themselves as alternative, instant-justice police, the dissidents have tried to address the splits within hard-line republicanism. | On top of portraying themselves as alternative, instant-justice police, the dissidents have tried to address the splits within hard-line republicanism. |
| The statement burnt at the side of the road revealed that the Real IRA, RAAD, along with a loose coalition of terror units that the media often referred to as Oghlaigh na hEireann, have now united into a single command structure. It is estimated there could be up to several hundred activists. It is also clear they have expertise in making bombs, and among their ranks are possibly those who built the explosive devices that killed one Catholic police officer and severely wounded another. | The statement burnt at the side of the road revealed that the Real IRA, RAAD, along with a loose coalition of terror units that the media often referred to as Oghlaigh na hEireann, have now united into a single command structure. It is estimated there could be up to several hundred activists. It is also clear they have expertise in making bombs, and among their ranks are possibly those who built the explosive devices that killed one Catholic police officer and severely wounded another. |
| The Continuity IRA remains outside this faction. It is the oldest of the anti peace-process republican groups, and alongside political allies in Republican Sinn Féin the members regard themselves as the sole bearer of the torch of traditional republicanism. CIRA is unlikely to be taking commands from the new paramilitary structure announced this week. | The Continuity IRA remains outside this faction. It is the oldest of the anti peace-process republican groups, and alongside political allies in Republican Sinn Féin the members regard themselves as the sole bearer of the torch of traditional republicanism. CIRA is unlikely to be taking commands from the new paramilitary structure announced this week. |
| The overwhelming majority of nationalists in Northern Ireland vote for and support Sinn Féin in its peaceful strategy to achieve Irish unity; election results over more than a decade bear this out. People, whether unionist or nationalist, want peace and power sharing to continue. Nonetheless in parts of the province left behind by the peace process the soil is toxic enough for the teeth of a terrorist Hydra to create a new army of the malcontent. | The overwhelming majority of nationalists in Northern Ireland vote for and support Sinn Féin in its peaceful strategy to achieve Irish unity; election results over more than a decade bear this out. People, whether unionist or nationalist, want peace and power sharing to continue. Nonetheless in parts of the province left behind by the peace process the soil is toxic enough for the teeth of a terrorist Hydra to create a new army of the malcontent. |
| In cities like Derry youth unemployment is extremely high, jobs are scarce and there are few organisations outside the paramilitaries offering young men, in particular, any sense of belonging or direction. In the early 70s state repression, climaxing in Bloody Sunday, propelled a generation into the arms of the Provisional IRA. In the 21st century it is the recession that may prove to be the key recruitment driver for a new IRA emerging out of the factionalism and schisms of the dissident republicans. | In cities like Derry youth unemployment is extremely high, jobs are scarce and there are few organisations outside the paramilitaries offering young men, in particular, any sense of belonging or direction. In the early 70s state repression, climaxing in Bloody Sunday, propelled a generation into the arms of the Provisional IRA. In the 21st century it is the recession that may prove to be the key recruitment driver for a new IRA emerging out of the factionalism and schisms of the dissident republicans. |
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