Tiger’s Bay hits out at paramilitaries
A north Belfast community said to be living in fear has told UTV it is issuing a hard-hitting message to loyalist paramilitaries, urging them to “get off our backs”.
Too scared to be identified, residents have spoken through a community worker about fears someone will be killed amid the rising tensions in Tiger’s Bay.
They have called on all loyalist godfathers intent on holding the tiger down to leave what was once regarded as one of the UDA’s staunchest strongholds.
“People don’t want any paramilitary organisation, they don’t want supporters of anyone,” Raymond McCord from support group HELP – whose son, Raymond Jnr, was murdered by the UVF – told UTV.
“A lot of people here within this community are being labelled Andre Shoukri supporters because they don’t want anything to do with the UDA.
“The people don’t want Andre Shoukri – they don’t want the local brigadier, they don’t want any paramilitary organisation in the area.”
One-time UDA brigadier Shoukri was ousted from the organisation, along with his now deceased brother Ihab. He is currently serving a nine-year jail term after being sentenced in November 2009 for a catalogue of offences – including blackmail, intimidation and acquiring criminal property.
At the weekend, a Sunday newspaper published a list of people that paramilitary chiefs claim are involved in criminality. But the HELP organisation disputes that list and said those people are far removed from the real criminals.
“This place here at the minute is on a powder keg,” said HELP’s Paul McIlwaine.
“It just seems to be just waiting to go off. Someone’s going to get killed, there’s no doubt about it.
“If this isn’t defused, if it’s not resolved, we’re going to go back to a situation where you’ve got a long standing feud and a tit-for-tat. And that’s what’s going to happen and that’s what we need to avoid.”
Over the last few years, much has been done to try and bring about opportunity and a new lease of life for Tiger’s Bay.
But residents claim some of the money set aside to rebuild and regenerate the area is being siphoned off by the UDA to fund their criminality.
In a statement, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland – which is ultimately responsible for granting the cash – said it was “entirely satisfied with the financial arrangements surrounding all groups engaged in the From Prison to Peace Partnership project”.
