THE group that purports to represent elements of the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando has accused Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney of vetoing engagement with loyalists over the Irish Sea border.
The Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) made the claim in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson David Campbell, a former Ulster Unionist Party chairman.
Mr Coveney's office declined to respond but The Irish News understands the claim has been greeted with bewilderment in Dublin.
The group said that after it wrote a letter in March to Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which it withdrew support for the Good Friday Agreement, the taoiseach was "keen to reach out to loyalism".
The LCC said the Fianna Fáil leader had "appointed a personal envoy to meet the LCC and see if their concerns could be addressed".
The group also claims that Mr Coveney went to what it termed "unprecedented lengths" to convince European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic not to meet Mr Campbell or other connected to the LCC.
"We have it from an impeccable source that Coveney has twice now stepped-in to prevent dialogue with key opponents of the protocol," Mr Campbell said.
"It is clear to us that his misrepresentation of views in Northern Ireland and the ignoring of the cross-community guarantees of the Belfast Agreement have been part of his disingenuous and misleading negotiation of the protocol."
Mr Campbell said the foreign affairs minister "pretends to be acting in the best interests of preserving peace" but accused Mr Coveney of using the "threat of renewed violence as a negotiating tactic".
"To now prevent those who have helped maintain peace for over 20 years from speaking to his own taoiseach and to key European Commission officials is reprehensible and has severely damaged 25 years of outreach and bridge-building between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland," he said.
The LCC spokesman called on the Irish government to "publish all position papers and communications" tabled during the withdrawal agreement negotiations, which ultimately led to the protocol.
"It is clear to us that the current taoiseach inherited a dishonest negotiation, and that he has no authority within the coalition government," Mr Campbell said.
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Tool accused Mr Campbell and the LCC of "attention seeking".
''Loyalist paramilitaries continue to exert coercive control over working class communities, forcing out families they don't want and creating misery," he said.
"Their boorish threats and attention seeking are not a legitimate part of democratic discourse."
The LCC statement also said the umbrella group was "dismayed" that First Minister Paul Givan recently took part in a North-South Ministerial Council meeting, which the it said, "undermined unionist opposition to the protocol".
It called on the DUP and UUP to boycott the cross-border forum.
At the time of the meeting, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the protocol was not discussed with the southern representatives, only the response to Covid-19.
