Bessbrook demands demilitarisation
By Deirdre Feehan
On Saturday May 2 a protest was held in the South Armagh village
of Bessbrook calling for an end to Crown forces harassment of the
local people. More than a 150 from the Bessbrook and High Street
residents who assembled to march to the permanent checkpoint in
the Green Road area were confronted by a line of RUC men and
landrovers.
The RUC held a banner claiming that the protest was
illegal and ordering the people to disperse immediately. However,
the residents formed orderly rows and began their march, forcing
the RUC cordon further back until they reached the checkpoint,
while RUC loudhailers chanted that the protest was illegal and
that any participants or organisers were liable for arrest and
prosecution. At the checkpoint, the crowd was addressed by local
Sinn Fein Councillors Brendan Lewis and Conor Murphy.
British army disrupt South Armagh GAA
Heavily armed British soldiers disrupted a GAA camogie match at
Peadar O Doirnnin's at Forkhill in South Armagh last week.
Local Sinn Fein representative Conor Murphy described how a large
British army footpatrol backed up by two helicopter gunships
hovering overhead deliberately disrupted the game. ``Heavily armed
men acting in a purely provocative and menacing manner is not the
type of behaviour conducive to the lifting of rule 21'' said
Murphy.
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