Loyalists warn against IRA bias

Reid has been cautioned against showing any bias towards Catholic paramilitary groups

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has called for the IRA to have its cease-fire derecognised next time it commits a murder.

Trimble was speaking hours after Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid formally announced the derecognition of the cease-fires of two loyalist paramilitary groups amid accusations of inciting violence and carrying out murders.

The Ulster Defence Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force had their cease-fires derecognised on Friday.

Trimble said the secretary of state had "no option" but to derecognise the loyalists' cease-fires, but then accused the Irish Republican Army of carrying out four murders this year.

He said: "There are things he (Reid) can do now in terms of exerting significant pressure on those organisations, and I hope he is actually going to do it.

"I would like to say to Dr. Reid the next time the IRA murder someone, he should take exactly the same action (as with loyalists). Over the course of the last year, the IRA have murdered four people and nothing has been done about it.

He told the UK-based Sky News: "Dr. Reid won't want to look as though he is being biased in his approach."

Trimble resigned as Northern Ireland's first minister in the summer after accusing the IRA of failing to decommission its weapons under the 1998 Good Friday accord.

John White, chairman of the Ulster Democratic Party, which speaks for the UDA, said he feared the move might have removed any remaining restraint on individual members of the organisation who were intent on violence.

Two pipe bombs -- a weapon associated with the UDA -- were defused outside houses in Coleraine, County Londonderry, early on Saturday.

But there was no repeat of street disturbances which have erupted in loyalist districts in Belfast in recent weeks.

White said loyalists were still assessing the implications of the move.

Members of the UDA and its sub-group, the Ulster Freedom Fighters, who had observed the truce, were angered by the development, he said.

The LVF was "specified" as being off cease-fire on Friday amid accusations that it was involved in the murder of journalist Martin O'Hagan two weeks ago.

Reid had cited that the UDA and LVF appeared determined to spurn the opportunity to make the transition from violence to democracy.

He warned: "They may lash out and flaunt their immorality and their contempt for the law. But there is a limit to society's tolerance and that limit has now been reached."

Sinn Fein and the SDLP welcomed Reid's announcement.

Last week Trimble reiterated his threat that Unionist ministers would resign and withdraw from Northern Ireland's devolved power-sharing regime if there was no decommissioning of IRA arms this week.

"I announced that a week ago and I will give a more precise statement about this on Monday, and following that, I don't think Dr Reid has any choice but to suspend devolution in Northern Ireland.

"That means removing the other ministers, particularly the Sinn Fein ministers, from the administration," he said.

"I think this is inevitable given the failure of the Republican movement to demonstrate a commitment to exclusively peaceful means, and its failure to decommission."

Trimble is to fly to Washington where he will meet a series of politicians and key figures including U.S. President George W. Bush's special envoy to Northern Ireland, Richard Haass.