That's exactly what it was about . They farmed out the wet work to the loyalists who engaged in a campaign of terror that was often simply random . Using people like nelson who believed he was targeting IRA members . Nelson was only caught because after repeated murders of people the loyalists were convinced we're IRA members were met with blanket insistence they weren't from their families and the catholic community , the UDA became so incensed they contacted the media and posted up their targeting files on the walls of the shankill road . That blunder led directly back to Nelson and the cat was out of the bag .
And alongside this terror campaign , we're anyone and any pub or bookies could be targeted , you had the daily grind of army and police harassment and searches . Not just the stop and searches and the militarised saturation of nationalist communities , but the constant fucking about . Entire housing estates subject to " seal and search " , where the army teams went in with kango hammers and ripped the walls out of everyone's houses . The checkpoints that always coincided with rush hour , keeping everyone stuck for ages on the road , day in day out . That never netted a single gun or bomb because even the dopiest Provo could conclude the big massive traffic jam might be an indication of a security check up ahead . So life was a daily grind of frustration and annoyance punctuated by random terror .
And then what do the shinners turn around and do ? I myself was present at the very first meeting in the Conway mill on the falls road in late 94 criticising what was feared, correctly, was to be sinn feins role in the resurrection of Stormont and the legitimisation of partition . organised by a small socialist group . Two punters turn up and stand behind the speakers scowling at everyone in the room , pretty clear who they were there representing . Ensuring almost complete silence from the audience . And then responded to the criticisms with shouts of " do you want the loyalists to start killing again ? Do you want our people massacred ? " . So there was were we ended up . With the fucking Provo leadership using those loyalist bastards as bogeymen to keep us silent and compliant as well . Waving them at us like a stick to shut us up .
Every time I hear one of those smarmy bastards withering on about how empowered and politicised the nationalist community are I just remember that evening . Completely the reverse . Beaten politically , depoliticised , deradicalised and completely disempowered as regards any challenge to the state . Just cattle , voting and marching fodder to be kept in line by fear .
From cannon fodder to voting fodder was all we were .
It needs to be rembered too that it wasn't just loyalists they wre colluding with in their dirty game .
