UVF guns remain-murder on Shankill -- Stormont Watch

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Date Posted: Sun, Jun 06 2010, 11:33:22 PDT
Author: www.ia-pl.org
Subject: UVF guns remain-murder on Shankill

UVF DECOMMISSIONING QUESTIONED BY PUP LEADER 06/05/10 11:32 EST

The interim leader of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist
Party has said he believes the loyalist paramilitary
organisation has held on to some of its weapons.

Dr John Kyle was speaking today, a day after the funeral of
Bobby Moffett, who was shot dead on the Shankill Road in
Belfast last week.

Police have said he was killed by "individuals linked to the
UVF".

Dawn Purvis stepped down from the PUP leadership and left
the party in protest at Mr Moffett's murder.

The UVF claimed to have decommissioned all its weapons last
year.

However, the Independent Monitoring Commission said in its
latest report that it could not rule out that some arms had
been retained in some parts of the organisation.

And Dr Kyle said that he believed that they had not all been
destroyed.

"Clearly there are still weapons around and there are people
who still believe that violence is justifiable and are
prepared to resort to it," he said.

Chief Inspector John McVea said police believed Mr Moffett
had been "lured to his death" as part of a dispute involving
those "linked to the UVF".

Nearly 2,000 mourners attended the funeral of the loyalist.

Many lined the streets outside the Moffett family home on
Friday.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds and his DUP colleague Nelson
McCausland were among those attending.

Mr Dodds said the people of the Shankill had sent out a very
powerful message to the paramilitaries that the community
wanted to move on.

He said he hoped the "sickening murder" would be a watershed
in the history of the Shankill.

Earlier, Mr McVea, who is leading the hunt for Mr Moffett's
killers, described his murder as "a public execution".

He said two masked gunmen had shot him three times with
shotguns.

Police said they believe the killers came out of Conway
Street and appealed for information about two vehicles - a
silver blue Skoda Octavia and a light blue Audi A4 - which
they believe may have been used by the gunmen.

Two similar vehicles have been seized by police during 31
searches since the killing.

Mr McVea said he believed the key to catching the killers
lay with the people of the Shankill and said anyone who came
forward would be offered the full protection of the law.

The loyalist paramilitary group had allegedly sent warnings
to some people not to attend the funeral.

Text messages had been circulating telling people not to go
to the funeral. It was not clear from where the messages
orginate.

The murder has also raised questions about the UVF's claim
to have decommissioned all of its weapons.

On Thursday, at the vigil, the crowd gathered on the road
where Mr Moffett was killed. His sister, Irene Moffett, said
she did not know how her family would cope.

"With the strength of our whole family we will get through
it together, and with the strength of the people that've
been here, we will."
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