Protestant Militia in N. Ireland Outlawed : Law enforcement: Britain bans the Ulster Defense Assn., accusing it of engaging in ‘criminal and terrorist acts.’ Catholics in Belfast and Dublin welcome the decision.

The British government Monday banned the largest Protestant paramilitary organization in Northern Ireland, the Ulster Defense Assn.

Britain’s secretary for Northern Ireland, Patrick Mayhew, said the association was “actively and primarily engaged in the commission of criminal terrorist acts.” The UDA is widely believed to be merely a cover name for its military wing, the Ulster Freedom Fighters, which has claimed responsibility for killing Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland and which is already outlawed.

The Ulster Defense Assn. was founded in 1971 as a coordinating body for pro-British “loyalist” groups in Northern Ireland.

British officials have been worried by the rise in sectarian killings in Ulster during the past year, many attributed to Protestant loyalists who said they intended to match the violence of the outlawed Irish Republican Army.

The ban was welcomed among Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland and in Dublin but criticized by Ulster loyalists on the grounds that Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, was not similarly proscribed.

“I do not understand why Sinn Fein, which is also an organization deeply involved in sectarian killings of Protestants, is not also banned,” said Ken Maginnis, a member of Parliament from the Ulster Unionist Party, which supports British rule in Northern Ireland.

“We have never had any hang-ups about the possible proscription of the UDA or any organization involved in sectarian murder,” said Maginnis. “Clearly, the UDA has been involved in killings, and therefore we are quite happy (to see it banned).

“(But) we would like to have seen (Mayhew) display greater courage and go for a very limited form of internment, taking out the very top people not just in the UDA but also in Sinn Fein and the IRA.”

Northern Ireland Security Minister Michael Mates, asked why Sinn Fein was not also banned, replied: “Sinn Fein is a disgrace in that it does not condemn violence. But that is not a reason alone to ban it. The UDA is primarily involved in terrorism and crime.”

He indicated that Sinn Fein would be banned if the government determined that it was actively engaged in terrorism.

Sinn Fein, operating as a political party, gained about 10% of the vote in the last Ulster election, virtually all from Catholic voters.

The ban on the Ulster Defense Assn., which went into effect at midnight Monday, carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for membership in the organization or for soliciting funds for it.

But members of the UDA said they would continue to protect the rights of Protestant loyalists in Northern Ireland.

In Dublin, the Irish Republic’s Department of Foreign Affairs said: “We share the widespread concern that exists in Northern Ireland about the role and activities of the UDA. In recent months, these concerns have been accentuated by the upsurge in acts of violence perpetrated by loyalist paramilitaries.”

The UDA claimed a membership of at least 20,000 at its peak in the 1970s but has since dwindled to a few thousand active members, sources in Belfast say.

In February, the UDA was accused of responsibility for an attack on a betting parlor in West Belfast that left five Catholics dead or mortally wounded.

According to British authorities, the UDA has also been involved in racketeering--terrorizing businessmen and small shopkeepers to raise money to fund its activities.