Orange Volunteers
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The Orange Volunteers (OV) are a break-away Loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland.
The OV emerged during the 1998 Drumcree Crisis, when the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British army prevented members of the Portadown Orange Order and their supporters from returning to the town centre down the Garvaghy road. They are comprised largely of former Ulster Volunteer Force militants who disapprove of the Northern Ireland peace process. They are known for attacks on Catholic churches and businesses in Northern Ireland, in an attempt to prevent political settlements with nationalists. One of its first actions was a synchronised attack on 11 Catholic churches, justified by its then leader, Clifford Peeples, because they were "bastions of the Antichrist." Peeples later left the organisation and is now a pastor with the Elim Pentecostal Church. At the height of their activity they were known to have as many as 20 members, some of whom were experienced with munitions and bomb-making. Several pipe bomb attacks were attributed to them.
In October 1999 Peeples and another loyalist were arrested by the RUC after their car was stopped on the outskirts of Dungannon and two hand grenades and a pipe bomb were discovered. In 2001 he was jailed for ten years for possession of the weapons [1]. He was released in 2004. Four other members of the group were convicted of a range of terrorist offences, including possession of automatic rifles, in December 2000.[2]
The group has not been active since 2000, when they declared a ceasefire. In February 2001, the group called off its ceasefire with a "Back to War" statement, but has not been thought to be active since then. But the group is thought to have received a large quantity of weapons some time in the 2000's.
