Opinion

Allison Morris: Loyalist transformation cannot be the never-ending story

North Down loyalist Dee Stitt with leading loyalist Jimmy Birch at the Linen Hall Library yesterday. Picture by Mal McCann
North Down loyalist Dee Stitt with leading loyalist Jimmy Birch at the Linen Hall Library yesterday. Picture by Mal McCann North Down loyalist Dee Stitt with leading loyalist Jimmy Birch at the Linen Hall Library yesterday. Picture by Mal McCann

THERE is no questioning the intentions of men like Harold Good, Norman Hamilton and former Church of Ireland Archbishop Alan Harper.

Without the goodwill and eternal optimism of those clergymen who helped push and shape the peace process and bring people - at times reluctantly - to the talks table, the anniversary being marked today might never have happened.

It is also worth noting the role of loyalists in the peace negotiations and securing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Men like David Ervine, Gary McMichael and William 'Plum' Smith, who showed leadership that was never fully recognised or indeed rewarded electorally in the years that followed.

But in remembering that time we cannot also turn a blind eye or pretend that what has happened to loyalism and loyalist communities over the last 20 years is something to be celebrated.

The 'Loyalist Declaration of Transformation' launched yesterday in the historic Linen Hall Library is a document that looks predictably similar to the statement of intent at the launch of the Loyalist Communities Council in 2015.

There has been little progress in those three years, or indeed since similar statements read out at various Remembrance Day events and even the UDA's Conflict Transformation Initiative way back in 2006.

It is not that the will of some loyalists to genuinely transform is in question, but their ability to deliver such change is far from guaranteed.

Successive governments have simply thrown funding at the problem, hoping it would eventually go away.

That some sections of the UDA and UVF have continued to recruit makes that organic transformation into an 'old boys club' an impossible aspiration.

That the statement delivered yesterday talks of criminals within their ranks being placed "outside the membership" raises more questions than it answers.

Jim Wilson, representing the RHC, spoke of 'self expulsion'. But it is ludicrous to expect the public to believe those using a paramilitary organisation as a cover for criminality and financial gain will voluntarily relinquish power.

The Linen Hall launch also spoke of loyalist support for the rule of law, the PSNI and the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.

This came just days after graffiti appeared warning the task force to stay out of the loyalist Kilcooley estate in Bangor in the aftermath of raids on a number of known UDA figures including Dee Stitt, who was present at yesterday's event.

The process of loyalist transformation cannot be the never-ending story. It cannot be an endless battle between those who wish to advance the communities they live in and those who seek to control them through intimidation and fear.

Every word in yesterday's loyalist statement should be welcomed as positive, but it also needs to be more than just words, and to date loyalism has shown a consistent inability to deliver on previous pledges.