Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Sinn Féin demilitarisation conference in South Armagh

Members of Ógra Shinn Féin from throughout the north gathered in south Armagh for a weekend campout on Slieve Gullion mountain to monitor the level of British Army activity in the area. On Sunday, two members of Ógra Shinn Féin - Barry McNally from Carrickmore and Barry McColgan from Omagh - attended a Sinn Féin conference held in Slieve Gullion Courtyard to report back with the results of their survey.

The conference opened with Caitríona Ruane giving an overview about organising campaigns in general. She was followed by Declan Fearon, South Armagh Farmers and Residents Group, who told delegates of their experience to date in their campaign to have the British Army presence removed from south Armagh.

The two members of Ógra Shinn Féin then gave details of their survey to the conference. They said that over the weekend - from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon - they had recorded 122 incidents of helicopter flights. "These included landing at spyposts and barracks and at times they would hover overhead for nearly one hour or drop off troops in the surrounding fields.

"The level of helicopter activity during this weekend is unacceptable. On average this would amount to nearly 500 flights a week in this part of south Armagh alone."

Summing up at the end of the conference the Cavan & Monaghan Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said:

"The British spyposts are as much an issue for people living south of the border as they are for those in the Six Counties. From their vantage points, these spyposts operate their sophisticated surveillance equipment into Counties Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal.

"Of course, demilitarisation is not just about spyposts. The bottom line for us as Irish republicans is the complete removal of British military equipment and personnel. Any progress made to date has not been through a willingness on behalf of the British government to do so. Rather, it has been brought about by the relentless campaigning of beleaguered nationalist communities throughout the North.

"Five years ago the British government committed themselves to a policy of demilitarisation in the Good Friday Agreement. This policy was reinforced in the recent publication of the Joint Declaration and some spyposts have been removed. Sinn Féin has raised this issue in the Dáil on many occasions but for the most part we feel that An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and other parties in the South have merely given lip service to this problem."

Newry/Armagh Sinn Féin spokesperson Conor Murphy pointed out that many areas, predominately along the border counties, are still heavily fortified by British military garrisons and south Armagh remains the most heavily militarised area in Western Europe. "This is an indictment of the British government's failed policy and proof that they have procrastinated at every opportunity available to them to remove their troops from the north of Ireland," he said.

"Demilitarisation does not just involve the removal of spyposts. It means the complete removal of British military personnel. Residents living in the vicinity of the joint British Army/PSNI barracks in Crossmaglen have been forced to live with constant helicopter activity day and night.

"The statistics of British military occupation of this area appear dull and characterless. Up until recently there were five major military bases, 14 hilltop forts. 31 spyposts, a fluctuating presence of almost 3,000 British Army and PSNI personnel - at most times one for every eight citizens in this area - all backed up by constant helicopter activity night and day and hundreds of infra-red surveillance cameras and listening devices scattered throughout the area.

"However, bland statistics do not convey the reality of the British military presence here in south Armagh. There are hundreds of helicopter flights in this area every week. These result in cattle stampeding through fields. Animals are killed or injured and damage caused to fencing. Farmers throughout this island have enough to contend with, attempting to earn a living in an industry and way of life that is under threat. They do not need this added burden of unnecessary military occupation of their land and property.

"The British government have promised a rolling programme of demilitarisation in this area. At present they are engaged in removing the watch towers from Newtowncloughogue and Tievecrum. We are told this work has been completed. However, security surveillance cameras remain on the roadsides at these spyposts. This form of unmanned remote spypost is not acceptable. We are demanding that the British military presence - inclusive of checkpoints, spyposts and personnel - be removed completely.

"While we acknowledge that some bases have been removed from south Armagh we would urge that this drip-feed approach be abandoned and that an acceptable scheduled time-frame for complete demilitarisation become unstoppable and implemented at once. Only then might we convince people that demilitarisation is really going to happen.

"People here are angry and believe their community has been deliberately excluded from any benefit derived from the Good Friday Agreement. Despite this daily harassment, they continue to give support to the ongoing Peace Process.

"The British government cannot be trusted to implement their promises of demilitarisation and the primary aim of this conference today is to ensure that we highlight this situation on every occasion and keep it at the top of any future negotiations."