Life
on the ‘Interface’.
The reality of life in Cluan Place for the small unionist
population.
Cluan
Place
The
true story of life for unionists in a small street of 25 houses
in what is referred to as an “interface” area.
Extracts from a booklet
by Peter Robinson M.P., M.L.A.
A child’s play area after
a republican attack
One of the characteristics of the republican movement in
recent times has been the way, while agitating and orchestrating
violence at interface areas across Belfast, they have, in
parallel, fought a fierce and vile propaganda war. The Provos
launch attacks, wait for reprisals and castigate loyalists
for attacking innocent Catholics.
The result of this wheeze saw Short Strand republicans don
themselves in the robes of righteous victimhood even before
the sirens of the ambulances, carrying the Protestants they
had shot, had faded in the night air.
This
account, unapologetically, sets out to put the record straight.
It is essential that the unionist case - one which is
not always heard - be told. The people of Cluan Place,
Madrid Street, Thistle Court and elsewhere along the Short
Strand interface deserve no less.
Cluan Place is an isolated Unionist area backing on to the
republican Short Strand. It is a street of 25 houses. Each
home has been attacked at one time or another while some have
been attacked on many occasions.
Thistle Court and Madrid Street, until very recently were
completely exposed to republican Short Strand and suffered
drastically as a consequence. More than 40 out of 79 houses
sit derelict in the Thistle Court/Madrid Street area as a
result of I.R.A. attacks. After pleas to Government, gates
eventually were erected across Madrid Street beside Thistle
Court, stopping republican incursions but the missiles continue.
Conflicts, such as those around areas like Short Strand,
do not happen by accident. They have been carefully created
and manipulated by republicans. In order to properly understand
the current violence it is important to understand the republican
mentality which brought about the present situation.
There are a number of reasons for the present outbreak.
Undermine the Police Service
It is clearly the intention of republicans
to create a situation which will draw the police into nationalist
areas and into conflict with the local population. Republicans
intent on violence will seek to exploit any attempt to restore
order by the police and will attempt to police their own areas
and make them no-go areas for the police.
Keep Volunteers Busy
It is critical to the Sinn Fein/I.R.A. twin-track
approach that they have volunteers who are available, when
required, to intensify the pressure on the British Government.
The Provos therefore find it useful to orchestrate incidents
to keep the volunteers busy and ensure they do not drift away
from the organisation.
Create New Victims
Central to the entire ideology of Irish republicanism
is the notion of victimhood. This goes back centuries but
is used by modern day republicans to first create and then
exploit ‘victims’.
Territorial Expansion
The expansion of republican communities into
unionist areas by intimidating neighbouring Protestants has
been a feature of the thirty years of the troubles.
Cause Nationalist Reliance
On I.R.A.
Creating fear within the nationalist community
follows from the predictable loyalist reprisals and ironically
has the beneficial effect (for the I.R.A.) of making nationalists,
turn to the Provos for protection from the violence it initiated.
Justify No Decommissioning
A community that lives in a climate of tension
is likely to be less demanding on the I.R.A. to decommission
its illegal stockpile of weapons.
The I.R.A.’s
Tactics
The pattern of republican action is always to stir up unrest,
offer dialogue as a diversionary tactic, then attack loyalist
areas before withdrawing to manipulate the media coverage
of the interface. Having planned the acts of aggression they
unfold their prepared propaganda offensive and have it up
and running while the poor Protestants are still reeling from
the violent attack.
The
attacks along the boundary with Short Strand have ranged from
comparative low-level stone-throwing by children, (disturbingly
referred to as recreational violence), through street riots,
up to full-scale assaults including the use of guns, petrol
bombs and blast bombs.
Violence emanating from Short Strand goes back several decades.
Precisely thirty years before the present shootings the St.
Matthew’s massacre took place when I.R.A. gunmen rained
gunfire down into the Newtownards Road, murdering three people
and injuring five others. The I.R.A. murderers positioned
in the Chapel steeple shot indiscriminately at Protestants
in the road below.
Republicans repeatedly launched attacks on Protestant homes,
burning them down, destroying the fabric of the area and forcing
Protestants out. The evidence of this campaign of “ethnic
cleansing” is all around and visibly evident.
The Facts
The picture tells the story. This is Cluan Place. Houses
destroyed by republicans attacks. Residents forced out -
the street left derelict and deserted.
Members of the Inner East Belfast Forum have meticulously
recorded the incidents during the month of June 2002.
INCIDENTS
|
Cluan
Place
|
Thistle
Court
|
Attempted murder
|
5
|
|
Attacks using Petrol Bombs
|
24
|
6
|
Attacks using fireworks with nails attached
|
11
|
8
|
Attacks using Blast bombs
|
7
|
3
|
Attacks using stones, bricks, bottles and other
missiles
|
72
|
47
|
Attacks using pebbles etc. from catapults
|
38
|
20
|
Another key indicator of who the real victims are is the
level of homelessness - and which community has been
made homeless.
HOMELESS APPLICATIONS |
|
|
Cluan Place |
Unionist |
19 |
Duke Street |
Unionist |
1 |
Paulette Avenue |
Neutral |
1 |
Clandeboye
Drive |
Nationalist |
1 |
Yet another test of the direction of the violence is the
fact that 5 Protestants were shot, several seriously. One
of the men shot, twice, had received a peace prize from the
Secretary of State only a week before. He was in the area
to help young people he was working with get away from danger.
Two other young men were shot while boarding up the windows
of houses attacked by republicans. As well as those shot by
the I.R.A. from Short Strand there have been several near
misses. No Short Strand residents were shot.
On the eve of the 12th July police seized potentially lethal
items from Short Strand. Just before the main loyalist parade
in the area the police discovered eight crates of bottles
to be used for petrol bombing the parade. Along with the bottles
were a large bag of nuts, bolts and lead weights to be used
as missiles.
Yet statistics seem woefully inadequate in quantifying the
impact of the constant violence on residents. The scene in
Cluan Place is one of devastation. Every house has its windows
boarded up while the backs of houses bordering the peace wall
are virtually destroyed. Most roofs have gaping holes in them
and there is debris everywhere. The scene is all too familiar,
having been the pattern experienced by Thistle Court and Madrid
Street previously.
However, it is the Street’s inhabitants that have suffered
most. As one resident put it, “The worst thing is living
in constant fear. You never know when the next attack will
come.”
The Propaganda War
When running a propaganda campaign that has no regard to
facts, there is seldom a difficulty in rebutting any and all
accusations. If you are prepared to resort to lies then any
excuse will do. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive statistics
demonstrate the falsehoods that Sinn Fein/I.R.A. has been
propagating about the number of houses in Short Strand damaged
and the number of residents declared homeless.
Republicans in short Strand have no embarrassment about the
extent of the lies they tell. One even had the audacity to
suggest that republicans had not been involved in any stone
throwing. Just take a look at the devastation in Cluan Place
and read that quote again.
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