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UDA has not 'done enough on arms' UDA won't recognise arms deadline
(about 3 hours later)
The Ulster Defence Association has not done enough on disarming to secure funding for loyalist projects, Alliance Party leader David Ford has said. The Ulster Defence Association has confirmed it is sticking to its own timetable on getting rid of its weapons, despite a Tuesday deadline.
On Saturday, NI Secretary Shaun Woodward said the paramilitary group had started "meaningful engagement". NI Secretary Shaun Woodward said the paramilitaries had begun "meaningful" talks with the decommissioning body.
Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has threatened to pull £1.2m loyalist funding over the issue. Social development minister Margaret Ritchie had threatened to block £1.2m from a loyalist project, and said this could be redirected to other areas.
Mr Ford said the UDA had not done enough and that Mr Woodward should not have released a statement on the issue. She said she would judge the situation "in the round" after Tuesday.
However, he said the group engaging with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning to discuss how it could put its weapons beyond use was welcome. The funding was aimed at helping to move the paramilitary organisation away from violence, but Ms Ritchie set a 60-day deadline in August following violence in Carrickfergus and Bangor linked to the UDA.
"This statement cannot be used as a get out clause for the UDA to get their funding and I would again urge Margaret Ritchie to stick to her deadline," he said. Once we get an inclusive society, it will be easier for the UDA to move on Frankie GallagherUlster Political Research Group class="" href="/1/hi/northern_ireland/6479293.stm">UDA bites at huge cash carrot Ms Ritchie told the BBC's Politics Show on Sunday that this money could be redirected to different projects tackling poverty in loyalist areas.
"I am concerned the secretary of state has made a public statement on the UDA's engagement at this very sensitive time. "I have seen very high levels of deprivation - people who are yearning to have the shackles of paramilitarism removed," she said.
"The issue of the grant was solely a matter for Margaret Richie and the Department of Social Development. "What I will do is quite simple: I will redirect funding if there is no decommissioning.
"This unhelpful statement from Mr Woodward suggests a lack of respect for the devolved institutions in general and the work of Margaret Ritchie in particular." "What we have had is engagement with General De Chastelain (of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning) some 13 years after the ceasefires, and we have not yet seen a start to getting rid of its arms and arsenal."
Mr Woodward's welcome for the UDA development will put pressure on Ms Ritchie. However, Frankie Gallagher of the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group, reiterated the group would decommission in its own time.
The social development minister has insisted she will end funding for a three-year loyalist conflict transformation project, unless actual decommissioning of weapons begins by Tuesday. This statement cannot be used as a get-out clause for the UDA to get their funding and I would again urge Margaret Ritchie to stick to her deadline
In a statement released on Saturday, Ms Ritchie said she was aware of the NI Secretary's statement and would monitor the situation over the weekend. He told the programme "deadlines are never kept" but pressure works to an extent.
"What the UDA needs, what all the people in Northern Ireland need is a fully inclusive society," he said.
"Once we get that inclusive society, it will be easier for the UDA to move on."
On Saturday, Mr Woodward welcomed the fact that "meaningful engagement and negotiations have started".
Loyalist sources insist that a process is underway that could lead to decommissioning at a later date, and it appears that Mr Woodward has endorsed this view.
The UDA has been meeting the commission led by General John De Chastelain for more than two years.
Earlier, Alliance Party leader David Ford said Mr Woodward's "unhelpful statement" showed a "lack of respect" for the devolved institutions and Ms Ritchie's work.
"This statement cannot be used as a get-out clause for the UDA to get their funding and I would again urge Margaret Ritchie to stick to her deadline," he said.