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Independent International Commission On Decommissioning
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland, as part of the peace process. Legislation and organisation An earlier international body, set up during the ceasefires to report on how decommissioning might be achieved, presented its report on 22 January 1996. This recommended that the decommissioning process should take place "to the satisfaction of an independent commission". The Decommissioning Act, 1997 in the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997 in the United Kingdom enabled such a body, which was then set up in an agreement between the British and Irish governments on 26 August 1997. The commission was composed of: * General (Ret.) John de Chastelain, Chairman, from Canada * Brigadier Tauno Nieminen, from Finland, and * Ambassador Donald C. Johnson, from the US, 1997–99, Andrew D. Sens, from the US, 1999–2011 Its obje ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decommissioning In Northern Ireland
Decommissioning in Northern Ireland was a process in the Belfast Agreement as part of the Northern Ireland peace process. Under the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement, all paramilitary groups fighting in the Troubles would be subject to decommission. Decommissioning was a defining issue in the effort to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland. Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement The Belfast Agreement, or Good Friday Agreement, was signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. It contained provisions for a government involving both Catholics and Protestants, whose traditional aspirations, expressed as nationalism on one side and unionism on the other, had often clashed over the years. The Agreement recognised the legitimacy of both aspirations. One of the provisions of the Agreement was that the parties agree to collectively use their influence to achieve decommissioning with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional IRA
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It argued that the all-island Irish Republic continued to exist, and it saw itself as that state's army, the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was List of designated terrorist groups, designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected. The Provisional IRA emerged in December 1969, due to a split within Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), the previous incarnation of the IRA and the broader Irish republican movement. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Hand Commando
The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The Red Hand Commando carried out shootings and bombings, primarily targeting Catholic civilians.''The Milwaukee Journal'', 13 August 1974 As well as allowing other loyalist groupings to claim attacks in their name, the organisation has also allegedly used the cover names Red Branch, "Red Branch Knights" and "Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group".''Sunday Life'', 7 May 1995 It is named after the Red Hand of Ulster, and is unique among loyalist paramilitaries for its use of an Irish language motto, ''Lámh Dearg Abú'', meaning 'red hand to victory'. Writing in early 1973, Martin Dillon characterized t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Volunteer Force (1966)
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the List of designated terrorist organizations, terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitaries – particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. The vast majority (m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of its members came from the UVF's UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, Mid-Ulster Brigade, which Wright had commanded. In a two-year period from August 1996, the LVF waged a paramilitary campaign in opposition to Irish republicanism and the Northern Ireland peace process. During this time it killed at least 14 people in gun and bomb attacks, almost all of them Irish Catholic, Catholic civilians killed at random. The LVF called off its campaign in August 1998 and decommissioned some of its weapons, but in the early 2000s a loyalist feud led to several killings. Since then, the LVF has been largely inactive, but its members are believed to have been involved in rioting and organized crime. In 2015, the security force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UTV (TV Channel)
UTV (formerly Ulster Television, branded on air as ITV1 since 2020) is the ITV region covering Northern Ireland, ITV subsidiary and the former on-air name of the free-to-air public broadcast television channel serving the area. It is run by ITV plc and is responsible for the regional news service and programmes made principally for the area by the UTV production team. It currently uses the network ITV1 channel with an opt-out service for local advertising and on-air promos for local programming. The present day TV service, ITV1, is directly descended from the ITV network, which originally consisted of independent regional companies which were once the only commercial TV broadcasters in their area. UTV held the licence for Northern Ireland and first went on the air on 31 October 1959. The company itself was formed in November 1958 to apply for the licence – advertised by the Independent Television Authority – and became the first indigenous television broadcaster in Irela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Official Irish Republican Army
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of the Troubles, when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) split into two factions. The other was the Provisional IRA. Each continued to call itself simply "the IRA" and rejected the other's legitimacy. Unlike the "Provisionals", the "Officials" did not think that Ireland could be unified until the Protestant majority and Catholic minority of Northern Ireland were at peace. The Officials were Marxist-Leninists and worked to form a united front with other Irish communist groups, named the Irish National Liberation Front (NLF). The Officials were called the NLF by the Provisionals and "stickies" by nationalists in Belfast (apparently in reference to members who would glue Easter lilies to their un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a Socialist state, socialist republic encompassing United Ireland, all of Ireland. With membership estimated at 80–100 at their peak, it is the paramilitary wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). The INLA was founded by former members of the Official Irish Republican Army who opposed that group's ceasefire. It was initially known as the People's Liberation Army. The INLA Timeline of Irish National Liberation Army actions, waged a paramilitary campaign against the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland. It was also active to a lesser extent in the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and mainland Europe. High-profile attacks carried out by the IN ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bren
The Bren gun (Brno-Enfield) was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by the United Kingdom in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted. The Bren gun was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer. The later Bren gun featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. In the 1950s, many Bren guns were re-barrelled to accept the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle, Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles. After more than seven decades since its creation, the AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed-Stock (gun), stock version was introduced into active service for selected units of the Soviet Army. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact. The model and its variants owe their global popularity to their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost (compared t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semtex
Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications. Semtex was developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia, originally under the name B 1 and then under the "Semtex" designation since 1964, labeled as ''SEMTEX 1A'', since 1967 as ''SEMTEX H'', and since 1987 as ''SEMTEX 10''. Originally developed for Czechoslovak military use and export, Semtex eventually became popular with armed groups and insurgents because, prior to the 2000s, it was extremely difficult to detect, as in the case of Pan Am Flight 103. Composition The composition of the two most common variants differ according to their use. The 1A (or 10) variant is used for mining, and is based mostly on crystalline PETN. The versions 1AP and 2P are formed as hexagonal booster charges; a special assembly of PETN and wax inside the charge assures high reliability for detonating cord or detonator. The H (or SE) variant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane's Intelligence Review
''Jane's Intelligence Review'' was a monthly journal on global security and stability issues published by Jane's Information Group. Its coverage includes international security issues, state stability, terrorism and insurgency, ongoing conflicts, organized crime, and weapons proliferation. History ''Jane's Soviet Intelligence Review'' (1989–1991) It was first published in January 1989 as ''Jane's Soviet Intelligence Review'', although a pilot edition had been produced in September the previous year and distributed at the Farnborough Airshow in order to test the market. Uniquely for Jane's—and its then parent company, the Thomson Corporation—the magazine carried no advertising but relied on subscription revenue only. It was profitable in its first year of publication and is believed to have remained profitable ever since. Among the first subscribers were the then vice-president of the United States, Dan Quayle, and the author Tom Clancy. Included in the January 1989 issue w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
