IRA is still active
From Thomas Devlin Sir: I read with interest Thomas Harding's description of a newly peaceful Northern Ireland `(Peace comes dropping slow', 10 July). It is a perceptive discussion, in most respects, of a constantly evolving situation. I take issue, however, with his contention that most [of the IRA] seem content to slip quietly out of sight, to nurture the memory of their vile deeds over a pint' while 'the brutish INLA sticks to maiming recalcitrant teenagers and dealing drugs. . '. There is an implication here that the IRA is inactive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like all of the Loyalist and Republican terrorist organisations, whether on ceasefire or not, it continues to terrorise the community from which it is drawn, Levels of punishment beatings, and indeed shootings, have gone up in the last two years and not down. The fact that these attacks now occur largely within communities rather than across sectarian divides can be of little comfort to their victims. Northern Ireland is certainly more peaceful from a middle-class perspective. For those living on either side of the peaceline in West Belfast, however, sadly little has changed.
Thomas Devlin
London SW6
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