Солтүстік Ирландия лоялистік әскери ұйымы: «Альстер Кедергісі»

Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement

Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM), is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement established by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in November 1986 in opposition to the Anglo Irish Agreement.

It was reported in the press shortly after the founding rally on November 10 that Ulster Resistance was led by DUP party representatives Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Ivan Foster and Alan Wright, the chairman of the Ulster Clubs. Below them were nine divisions, based on District Council areas, led by a so called "Commander". Below them were battalions, companies, and platoons. One UR organiser told a journalist that "The military are being placed in submission to the political leadership. It must be kept under the control of elected representatives." A committee named "Loyalist Family Welfare" was later formed to provide financial assistance for the families of imprisoned Ulster Resistance members. Loyalist Family Welfare adverts seeking donations were regularly published in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) magazine Combat in the early 1990s, with the address provided being in Portadown, County Armagh.

Ivan Foster at the group's launch claimed that the organisation already had access to a substantial amount of legally owned firearms. The money was used to buy 206 Vz. 58 assault rifles, 94 Browning 9mm pistols, 4 RPG 7 rocket launchers and 62 warheads, 450 RGD 5 grenades and 30,000 rounds of ammunition which arrived at Belfast docks from Lebanon in December 1987. The weapons were then transported to a farm between Armagh and Portadown, to await collection by the three groups. On 8 January 1988, as they attempted to transport their share of the weapons from Portadown to Belfast in a convoy of three cars, the UDA's share was intercepted at a Royal Ulster Constabulary checkpoint. 61 assault rifles, 30 Brownings, 150 grenades and over 11,000 rounds of ammunition were seized and three UDA men arrested. Davy Payne, the UDA's North Belfast Brigadier was sentenced to 19 years in prison and the two others to 14 years each. The presiding judge, Justice Nicholson, appealed to the Protestant community to reject the UDA because they distracted the RUC from "dealing with terrorists in the shape of the PIRA and INLA." One of the convicted men, James McCullough, in response jumped up in the dock and shouted "Long live Ulster — you are a traitor." Noel Little, an Ulster Resistance member and former Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier who was also the Armagh chairman of the Ulster Clubs, was arrested in connection with the find under the Prevention of Terrorism Act but released without charge. Part of the UVF's share was among weapons recovered in February 1988. An RPG 7 rocket launcher with 26 warheads, 38 assault rifles, 15 Brownings, 100 grenades and 40,000 rounds of ammunition were found following searches in the Upper Crumlin Road area of North Belfast. In November 1988, part of the Ulster Resistance share of the weapons was uncovered in police searches at a number of locations in County Armagh around Markethill, Hamiltonsbawn and in Armagh town. Among the items recovered was a RPG 7 rocket launcher and 5 warheads, 5 assault rifles (one being a Kalashnikov type rifle rather than a Czech vz. 58), a Browning pistol, 10 grenades, 12,000 rounds of ammunition and combat equipment. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Tom King speculated that the weapons could have been intended for loyalist attacks in the Republic of Ireland. This suggestion was reinforced by the discovery of a map of County Monaghan. One of the men convicted of arms possession in connection with the find was Mervyn Spratt, a long serving DUP member from Markethill who had contested a council seat on three occasions. The DUP claimed that it had severed its links with Ulster Resistance in 1987. Ian Paisley stated in the House of Commons the that he knew Mervyn Spratt "very well" but denied the charges demonstrated the arms dump belonged to Ulster Resistance, or that Spratt was even connected to the weapons. When asked about the arms find, Sammy Wilson denied it was linked to UR but told the Sunday Tribune that he "[defended] the right of Unionist people to resist" and "Ulster Resistance are doing no more and no less than Lord Edward Carson." Despite the DUP claiming to have cut ties in 1987, Wilson declined to say when he had last been in contact with Ulster Resistance. In September 1989, a 33 year old man from Poyntzpass and a 35 year old man from Tandragee were jailed to nine and six years respectively for storing and moving weapons and explosives on behalf of UR. In January 1990, a 32 year old former member of the UDR from Richill was jailed for 12 years for possessing UR arms and explosives. The weapons jointly imported by Ulster Resistance and the two main loyalist paramilitary organisations were linked to over 70 murders, including the, Sean Graham bookmaker's massacre, Greysteel massacre and the Loughinisland massacre. Ulster Resistance's portion of the South African arms shipment was linked to numerous attacks by loyalist paramilitaries; already in 1988 a Browning pistol and grenades sourced from UR were used by loyalist Michael Stone in the Milltown Cemetery attack. In the 1990s Willie Frazer, a "key figure" in the organisation, distributed assault rifles and rocket launchers from UR to the UDA.

The contacts in Apartheid South Africa who had helped set up the 1987 arms deal were also interested in trading guns for missile technology. On 31 October 1988, a model of the Javelin missile aiming system was stolen by two armed men from the Short Brothers factory in Belfast, which had a mostly unionist workforce. It was theorised that Ulster Resistance penetration into Shorts came through links to a loyalist group, the "People's Loyalist Council", which was involved in intimidation of Catholic workers in Shorts in the aftermath of the Anglo Irish Agreement. On 23 April 1988 an employee of Shorts had a briefcase stolen from his car while it was parked outside his home in Bangor, County Down. The briefcase contained documents pertaining to the development of the Javelin missile. A training model of an older Blowpipe missile was stolen from a Territorial Army base in Newtownards in April 1989. Three members of Ulster Resistance — Noel Little, a former UDR soldier, senior member of the Ulster Clubs, and DUP activist Shannon was a founder member of UR and also a member of the Ulster Clubs. Following the arrests, the SDLP called for Ulster Resistance to be made a proscribed organisation under British law and for RUC Special Branch to question DUP politicians about the organisation. DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson campaigned on behalf of the 'Paris Three' while Paisley sent them copies of the Bible. In early August 1989 former SDLP politician Austin Currie wrote to Irish Minister for Justice Gerry Collins alleging that two named serving members of the UDR in Fermanagh had been seen putting up posters reading, "Support the Paris Three and join Ulster Resistance", which were widely distributed across parts of Tyrone and Fermanagh.

According to Martin Dillon, Ulster Resistance cooperated with the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), the cover name for the group within the UDA responsible for paramilitary attacks. In Stone Cold Dillon alleges that UR members provided intelligence on potential targets in rural areas and also safehouses for loyalist hit squads.). The following day UFF gunman Micheal Stone met with members of UR in Enniskillen, where he was then taken to a safehouse. They briefed him about Hackett's whereabouts and Stone was then transported to another safehouse in Omagh where he met two other members of the organisation who showed him a security file. The British security forces file had numerous photographs of Hackett, some of which allegedly showed him in the company of IRA members; Hackett's charity work with Society of Saint Vincent de Paul brought him into contact with many people and the paucity of evidence in the file supported the view that Hackett was a victim of spurious accusations, according to Dillon. Ulster Resistance members were also allegedly involved in the attempted assassination of Sinn Féin councillor John Davey near his home in Gulladuff, County Londonderry in February 1988. Loyalist paramilitaries succeeded in killing Davey at his home the following year; the UVF claimed responsibility. although it was also alleged the UR name had become little more than a cover for the UVF. According to Dillon, the arms were given to Stone on the orders of UDA intelligence chief Brian Nelson, who was later revealed to be an agent of the Force Research Unit (FRU), a covert British military intelligence unit. In the 1990s Willie Frazer, a former UDR soldier and "key figure" in the organisation living in Markethill, distributed assault rifles and rocket launchers from UR to the UDA. In the early 1990s Johnny Adair leader of the UDA's "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade made contact with Frazer through mid Ulster based loyalists. The UDA's share of the South African shipment had been lost in 1988 but in 1991 the UDA's "C Company" had acquired its first assault rifle, likely via Markethill based UR members and by 1993 UR had supplied the Adair with several weapons, including assault rifles. In September 1993 Adair (not knowing he was being recorded) admitted to an RUC officer that he had purchased RPG 7 rocket launchers from UR on the condition they not be used against loyalists or British security forces; in 1994 the UDA carried out a number of rocket attacks on pubs in republican areas of Belfast and against Sinn Féin's headquarters. Adair later described the Ulster Resistance arms as 'a Godsend'. At a series of meetings near Markethill between representatives of the UDA's "C Company" and Ulster Resistance, Adair outlined a strategy for launching attacks on "specific republican targets" in South Armagh, a notorious republican stronghold where even the British Army travelled nearly exclusively by helicopter. Dillon wrote in 1997 that UR "remains an armed grouping, waiting in the wings for the call to violence" and "it shares views expressed by men like Billy Wright" that a civil war may be necessary to defend the position of Ulster Protestants. Dillon claimed that among the organisation's leaders were influential businessmen, serving RUC officers and former UDR soldiers. The organisation was highlighted again when grenades found in a dilapidated Gospel hall in north Belfast were linked to an UR arms shipment from South Africa. The Irish Independent wrote in July 1998 that "Ulster Resistance and Third Force have been reactivated". UR was reported to have supplied hand grenades to the Orange Volunteers (a separate organisation from the original Orange Volunteers) and the Red Hand Defenders, a covername for mainstream loyalists carrying out attacks contrary to their public ceasefires. Both groups carried out numerous grenade and pipe bomb attacks against Catholics in Northern Ireland in the years following the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. In July 2000, UDA leader Johnny Adair reportedly travelled twice to Markethill to meet with a businessman connected to Ulster Resistance to purchase weaponry to arm a new dissident loyalist faction drawing its membership from the LVF and his Shankill based UDA supporters. The UR representative reportedly told Adair the arms were not for sale at that time. In April 1991 after the CLMC announced its existence and an immediate, time limited ceasefire The Irish Press reported that the CLMC consisted of five paramilitary leaders representing the UFF, UVF, Red Hand Commando and a group known as Resistance. Later, when the ceasefire ended in July, the paper listed Ulster Resistance as one of the groups making up the CLMC. In February 2004 a group calling itself "Ulster Resistance 'A' Company (Ballymena)" threatened landlords in Ballymena who failed to evict known drug dealers. The warning followed a hoax bomb planted at the home of a man who had recently appeared in court on a drugs charge. In a front page article on 10 June 2007, the Sunday Life reported that Ulster Resistance were still active and armed. A statement released by the group claimed that it had "the capability and resources to strike with deadly force". A photo accompanying the article showed two masked men posing with automatic rifles beside a banner which read "Ulster Resistance C Division". A spokesman purporting to represent the organisation claimed it had the "capability and resources to strike with deadly force" and also that the group had members in Armagh, Fermanagh, south Londonderry and Tyrone and "a presence" in Belfast. In June 2017, following the United Kingdom general election, the DUP's historic links with Ulster Resistance were discussed in the media in relation to the Conservative–DUP agreement. Emma Little Pengelly, daughter of Noel Little of the "Paris Three", was elected MP for Belfast South in that election. When the DUP were asked to condemn Ulster Resistance in 2016 they stated "the party's stance is consistent, that anyone involved in illegal activity should be investigated and face the full weight of the law." In August 2022 the Sunday World newspaper reported that "hard line" loyalists opposed to the Good Friday Agreement had planned to assassinate Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble using Ulster Resistance arms. According to loyalist Barrie Halliday, his friend Willie Frazer had led a delegation of militant loyalists to David Trimble's home (uninvited) to pressure him to abandon plans to create a power sharing administration for Northern Ireland. The border based unionists left after a heated argument; days later a plan to murder Trimble materialised. The plot involved "hand picked" members of various loyalist paramilitary groupings attacking Trimble's car with an Ulster Resistance sourced RPG 7 rocket launcher as he exited onto the Belfast motorway from Lisburn. A Czech vz. 58 assault rifle and RGD 5 grenades were to be used to cover their escape. According to Halliday, the plan was foiled by Frazer, who emptied the arms cache. Unlike the UVF and UDA, Ulster Resistance never decommissioned its arsenal of weapons. Ulster Resistance's portion of the South African arms shipment was linked to numerous attacks by loyalist paramilitaries; already in 1988 a Browning pistol and grenades sourced from UR were used by loyalist Michael Stone in the Milltown Cemetery attack. In the 1990s UR distributed assault rifles and rocket launchers to the UDA Author Steve Bruce also claims that Metcalfe was "purportedly active in the UVF". In 1998 the Sunday Independent alleged that Metcalfe was a former member of the infamous UVF unit led by Robin Jackson and Jackson had cried openly at his funeral. The killing of the UR/UVF member spurred a wave of revenge attacks by the Mid Ulster UVF. Dillon claims that Charles Watson, a former UDR soldier murdered by the IRA in 1986 was a member of Ulster Resistance while according to Sutton he was a member of the UVF. Sutton lists Douglas as a civilian.