The Hindu : Adair arrest may provoke loyalists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 12, 2003

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International

Adair arrest may provoke loyalists

By Hasan Suroor

Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair

LONDON JAN. 11. Northern Ireland's most dreaded loyalist militant, Johnny "Mad Dog'' Adair, who has been in and out of jail since he was released as part of the peace process four years ago is back behind bars following a spurt in sectarian violence in Belfast.

His arrest signalled the start of a crackdown on Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups which have exploited the political vacuum to step up their activities.

Adair was arrested on Friday after a series of violent incidents, including killings, involving him and his men.

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Paul Murphy, said Adair was a "danger to others'' and was likely to commit "further offences'' if he remained free. Police said Adair had breached the conditions on which he was released under the Good Friday agreement.

This is the second time that he has been sent back to jail since his first release, and is now likely stay in prison until January 2005.

Adair had been at the centre of bloody exchanges with rival sectarian gangs since he was expelled last year from the Ulster Defence Association, the main loyalist paramilitary outfit. While police described his arrest as a "positive move'' which would send out a signal to other terrorist groups, his supporters were angry.

His close associate John White hailed him as a "peace maker'' and said: "I think many loyalists will be very angry.''

As police in Northern Ireland prepared to crack the whip, the British Government sought to revive the peace process which has been in deep freeze since October when the Provincial Assembly and administration were suspended after the Unionists insisted on Sinn Fein's expulsion from the governing coalition for not getting IRA to give up its weapons.

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, met the Ulster Unionist Party chief, David Trimble, and the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, separately earlier this week in a bid to bring them back to the negotiating table, and the Government is reported to be cautiously optimistic about a breakthrough.

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