Ulster Defence Association

The Ulster Defence Association (UDA ) is a Protestant paramilitary criminal underground movement in Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971 as an umbrella organization of loyalist groups it has long been legal, but was banned in August 1991 as a terrorist organization. Its members and sympathizers consider themselves, however, as defender of the Unionists in Northern Ireland against the terrorist militant republican forces. In reality, however, was the overwhelming number of attacks Catholic uninvolved civilians. The EU leads the organization on its list of terrorist organizations.

Attacks and feuds

A lot of the attacks perpetrated in the name of front groups, mainly the Ulster Freedom Fighters ( UFF ) or the Red Hand Defenders (RHD). While it is ensured that the UFF recruit mainly of members of the Ulster Defence Association, the composition of the Red Hand Defenders is unclear. It is believed that militant forces operate this deck name from both the UDA, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force. However, all three groups officially distance themselves from the RHD.

Conjecture Catholic population of Northern Ireland, there had been collusion between activists of the UDA and the former Northern Ireland police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ), set out to be a true out.

More recently, the UDA fought bloody feuds of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the other major paramilitary group from the Protestant spectrum. Among the reasons for the tensions to, among other rivalries over spheres of influence in the drug trafficking business, in which some members of the UDA were involved.

Truce

On 22 February 2003, the leadership of the UDA announced the cessation of all acts of violence for one year, the continuation of the ceasefire every 3 months would be re-examined. In August 2005, the UDA under band - partly by threats and arson attacks on kiosks - in their sphere of influence the sale of the Irish weekly newspaper Sunday World after they had mocked in an article about the loss of a lead member of the organization at gambling. This was to Andre Shoukri, who was expelled along with his brother Ihab in June 2006 by the UDA.

With the Ulster Democratic Party (1989-2001) and their precursors Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party (1981-1989) or New Ulster Political Research Group attempted to gain a political arm, which remained largely unsuccessful the UDA. The Ulster Political Research Group, founded after the dissolution of UDP essentially acts as an advisory body to the UDA leadership.

On 11 November 2007, the UDA announced a formal renunciation of violence. The final disarmament was completed in January of 2010 and will be announced. This was done by the Canadian General John de Chastelain, representatives of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning verified and confirmed.

In January 2012, the Northern Ireland police leadership alleged that the UDA was for the escalation of violence in loyalist demonstrations against the decision of the Belfast City Council, no longer permanently to hoist the British flag on the town hall, responsible, together with the UVF.

The UDA, with its 2,000-3,000 members even in size most powerful terrorist group in Northern Ireland, was responsible for at least 112 killings since its founding, the Ulster Freedom Fighters for at least 147