January 11, 2010--The Irish American Unity Conference (IAUC) has called on the British government to come clean about its involvement in arming loyalist paramilitary groups following last week's announcement that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) have completed the decommissioning process.

IAUC National President Kate McCabe said, "While we welcome news of the UDA/UFF disarmament, the irony of the fact that these groups were armed by MI5 and RUC Special Branch is not lost on us. We cannot hail this as any kind of real achievement without an honest discussion of British complicity in arming loyalist paramilitary groups over the years of the conflict."

"We know that the UDA/UFF were armed with weapons smuggled in from apartheid South Africa through paid British agent Brian Nelson under the watchful eye of Whitehall and Downing Street in 1987 and 1988--and that these very same weapons were then used in hundreds of sectarian murders."

There continues to be an active interest within Irish America and Congress in uncovering evidence of the collusion that took place with the blessing of the British government. The IAUC submitted evidence to this effect at last October's Congressional hearing into Collusion between Police and Paramilitary Groups in NI. Also at this hearing, Representative Bill Delahunt said he believed a key factor in the developing peace process lies in the unsolved murders of the conflict.

The IAUC will continue to lobby for American political support for an operationally independent, international truth commission. Additionally, the IAUC also seeks a Congressional hearing into the Brian Nelson affair and the arming of loyalist paramilitaries by British Military Intelligence.

ENDS

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The Friends of the Mc Daid Family Appeal are calling for an end to the sectarian intimidation of the Mc Daid family.The call follows the news that Evelyn Mc Daid and her family have been forced to move from their Coleraine home following the ongoing campaign of sectarian harassment of the family since the murder of Kevin Mc Daid in May this year.

The Group are also demanding that Mark and Ryan Mc Daid are released on bail following the decision of the PSNI to charge them with making threats against one of those charged in relation to the events surrounding the murder of Kevin Mc Daid.'' The decision to refuse bail to Ryan and Mark Mc Daid is in sharp contrast to how the bail applications of  many of those accusedof involvement in the murder of Kevin Mc Daid were treated'' A spokesperson for the Appeal has also called on the new Victims Commissioners to meet with the family to discuss ways in which their safety can we guaranteed. "We will be contacting the Commissioners this week to ask them to meet with the Mc Daid family".