A NEW political faction, the Official Republican Movement, has emerged in the North and held an Easter commemoration ceremony in Belfast yesterday at which it was claimed the Workers' Party "had lost its way".
The new group was formed after a series of expulsions from the Workers Party in Belfast and Newry and has been criticised by the WP president, Mr Tom French, as opportunist.
Speaking at Milltown Cemetery yesterday, Mr Paul Maloney, representing the new movement, told the crowd of more than 200 that the current leadership of the Workers Party had proved undemocratic and unprincipled.
The Workers' Party claims these people were expelled for alleged anti social behaviour while the people concerned say it was because they had challenged the leadership.
On April 5th the Official Republican Movement meets to discuss its future. The group may decide to form its own organisation.
Rumour and innuendo have followed this exodus from the Workers' Party, which is still reeling from its last major split, when Democratic Left was formed.
However, Mr French yesterday played down talk of splits: "The party is stronger than it was over the last two years. Look at the successful conference we had recently."
Reports that 32 Workers' Party members had been expelled from the Newry branch was "rubbish", according to Mr French. He claimed there were only 15 card holders in the branch and that the entire branch had been suspended following complaints from local people about anti social activity and sectarian activity.
"These are people who, as far as we are concerned, have been involved in activities that we would not have found acceptable," said Mr French, adding that people in Newry had praised what the party had done.
He revealed that a new branch is to be formed in Newry in the next couple of weeks. "The members who were stood down were all given a chance to reapply for membership but did not take it," he said.
"They all want to go back to the old days, and there is no way that any members of the party can be involved in that," said Mr French.
According to Ms Margaret Smith, a long standing member of the Workers' Party whose husband was killed in the feud with the Provisional IRA in 1975, her expulsion last year followed a call for an open discussion within the party about the disastrous forum election results, future strategy and finances.
She said: "I was expelled for criticising the leadership. There has been a lot of concern over a number of years over where they put candidates up, the time, effort and money that was wasted and could, have been put to better use.
Yesterday Mr Maloney said of the Workers' Party: "Their bankruptcy has been proven by their reaction to the proposal from the North Belfast branch to have a commission to evaluate the party's current standing."