Amnesty Frees Paisley

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31982, 8 May 1969, Page 15

Amnesty Frees Paisley

(N.Z.PJL.-Reuter—Copyright) ’ BELFAST, May 7. The extremist Protestant leader, the Rev. lan Paisley, was released from gaol yesterday under a Government amnesty and immediately declared his intention of continuing his anti-Roman Catholic crusade.

He and his chief aide, Major Ronald Bunting, were among 130 persons who benefited from a bid by Ulster’s hew Prime Minister, Major James Chichester-Clark, to “wipe the slate clean.” The Prime Minister ordered the release from gaol and the dropping of charges against all those involved in Ulster’s seven months of civil rights unrest. Charges were dropped against two pro-civil rights members of Parliament in the House of Commons, Miss Bernadette Devlin and Mr Gerry Fitt But saboteurs who recently blew up several water pipelines and attacked public buildings with fire bombs will still be hunted down and prosecuted. Mr Paisley, before returning home to his wife and five children, told reporters that six weeks in gaol had not caused him to decide to change his ways. He said: “The time has come for the Protestant

people of this province to

unite to make it a proper place in which to live.” •Major Chichester-Clark’s

move last night won approval from the Commons, where members welcomed the amnesty as a sound move to ease the situation. Mr Walter Williams, secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, said: “The Prime Minister has shown himself firm and fair.” The Di re of Westminster, Lord Erne, and at least three other leading Unionists who supported Captain O’Neill in the recent General Election were expelled from their Unionist Constituency Association on Monday.