Injustices By Paramilitary Groups In Northern Ireland

EDM number 965 in 1993-94, proposed by Harry Barnes on 28/03/1994.

That this House notes that the Belfast-based human rights organisation, Families Against Intimidation and Terror, have shown that within the past year at least 63 people have been expelled from Northern Ireland as a result of paramilitary gangs threatening the wellbeing and lives of people in the very communities these gangs claim to represent; entirely rejects the arguments of apologists for such actions who claim that paramilitary groups are dealing with anti-social and criminal elements by methods of expulsion, knee-capping, beatings and killings; upholds the basic democratic principle that crimes should be dealt with by due process of law in which the defendant is assumed innocent until proven guilty, has the right to defend him or herself and to be sentenced, if found guilty, according to a fair and reasonable code; and affirms that these rules do not apply to instances of paramilitary intimidation and violence against individuals, whether the victim is an alleged or proven criminal, responsible for anti-social activity, has offended a paramilitary godfather or resisted those seeking to steal a person's taxi to use in a bomb attack.

This motion has been signed by a total of 32 MPs.