Hardliners recruiting on Facebook

Rodney Edwards • Published 29 Jul 2010 16:00 0 Comments

Share this

A hardline republican group in Fermanagh is using Facebook to recruit young people, The Impartial Reporter has learned.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which has a faction operating in the county, is using the website to attract teenagers.

The group is regarded as the Real IRA's political wing, although members would deny this.

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott says he is "deeply concerned" by the group's recruitment tactics in Fermanagh.

"There are young people who have never been involved in any activity before being encouraged to get involved in these groups. These groups are using modern technology to do it and are using direct influence to gain support. There are young people in their late teens and early twenties getting involved.

"I have concerns that there may be a number of different dissident elements at work that may be co-operating with each other, and indeed, with the mainstream republican movement. I have huge concerns that the key element of this activity is in Fermanagh. The republican community has got to stand up to these people. These young people have their lives ahead of them and I would ask them to stop. They are creating havoc for themselves and the lives of others," he said.

On the website for Fermanagh's 32 County Sovereignty Movement, they say: "We are the new Republican alternative to Sinn Fein who are now administering British Rule in the North of our country." A note also reads: "I along with other members of the 32CSM here in Fermanagh will go and talk to people and local communities who are affected by people involved in anti-social activity and to interact with the community and to put a stop to anti-social activity where you live."

Under what it terms "Important links", the website also includes a number of links to IRA training videos on YouTube and other websites championing individuals who they call Prisoners of War, such as Colin Duffy, the prominent republican charged with the murders of sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey in Antrim last year.

The site also pushes its Facebook and YouTube websites, which police in Fermanagh are saying is "a must" for such groups to gain new support.

PSNI Chief Inspector Alywin Barton said his officers were "very much aware" of groups such as the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and their "continued efforts" to attract young people. "It is deeply worrying that they are continuing to draw in new members and it would be extremely naive to think otherwise. Generally speaking, this is evident by the fact that just this week a 16-year-old was arrested in Belfast for terrorism offences. It's evident in the last couple of years when we have seen an 18-year-old charged with murder. The methods that they are using, the methods they are adopting, are driven in some occasions by this romanticism of the freedom fight. I make reference to the fact that the 18-year-old arrested for murder could be sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted. They make no provisions to the fact that this young person will lose the remainder of his teenage years, his twenties and indeed, a significant part of his thirties," he said.

The Chief Inspector added: "But it is very comforting to note that these elements are not experiencing mainstream success and they are not drawing the numbers the community believe they are. Youths should be free to make their own choices but they should be protected as well, particularly when it comes to them losing their liberty or their freedom," he said.

Meanwhile, Police have revealed that between April 2009 and March 2010, there was six arrests in Fermanagh under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act. For the F District, comprising of Fermanagh, Omagh, Cookstown, Dungannon and South Tyrone, there was 20 arrests. While in the rest of Northern Ireland there was 122.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 29 Jul 10

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.