The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) has rejected overtures from the Loyalist Commission for talks on problems in the North's loyalist community.
In a statement last night, the group said it regarded the Loyalist Commission as another Northern Ireland Office/Trimble-led pro-Agreement grouping. It said the Loyalist Commission bore a heavy responsibility for the position the Loyalist/Unionist people now found themselves in.
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Former LVF leader Billy Wright
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"This gathering is made up of pro-Agreement representatives who have openly ignored the wishes of the Loyalist/Unionist people and who continue to endorse and promote an Agreement which has been proved again and again to be nothing short of a wish list of concessions to the republican movement," the LVF said.
The statement said the commission' backing and support for the Belfast Agreement was against the wishes of its own community.
It said the commission should first address the questions surrounding the murder of LVF leader Billy Wright and the harassment of other loyalists who refuse to accept the Belfast Agreement.
Reference was also made to the continued detention of senior loyalists on "dubious evidence" and prisoners who have had their licenses revoked.
The LVF statement concluded: "We see no benefit in sitting down with representatives who are pro-Agreement and who in some cases are coalition partners with Republican/Nationalist parties, nor with people who are using this body to promote their own political careers or egos".
PA