CIRA vows to maintain struggle

Republican hardliners in County Armagh have vowed to continue their armed campaign in the area despite a massive PSNI/MI5 operation in the Craigavon area on Thursday.

Of nine men arrested in the operation eight have been released without charge.

A CIRA spokesman vowed to continue their campaign. Said the spokesman: “Security force action against us is inevitable, but it won’t stop us from continuing the fight against the British presence in this country.

“Contrary to what many people believe, we have strong support in the north Armagh area, but also from true republicans in other parts of the Six Counties.

“We have been very unlucky in recent times but it just takes one of our operations to go according to plan so we can inflict serious damage on the British establishment.

“The Provos may have abandoned their struggle, but we will keep fighting to secure a 32-county republic for the people of this island.”

The CIRA in north Armagh have been blamed for a number of incidents over the past two years, including attacks on two PSNI bases and hoax bomb alerts on the main Belfast-Dublin railway line.

Richard Walsh -- a member of the Ard-Chomhairle of Republican Sinn Féin -- said that “British Colonial Police went out of their way to assault and harass those present, and to damage property.

“Cutters were used to enter houses without giving the occupants any opportunity to answer their doors. A pensioner was knocked down a flight of stairs, and a pregnant girl was locked in a cold room. The girl had to be hospitalised as a result of her ordeal at the hands of the RUC, and our thoughts are with her at this time. Searches were also carried out on children’s toys and nappies, and a pond was drained and excavated - killing all the fish living in it.”

He added that, contrary to claims in the media that the British military presence had been scaled down, low-flying helicopters were continuing to fly throughout the night, harassing the local community with search-lights.

Mr. Walsh also criticised the SDLP’s Dolores Kelly for remarks she had made in the aftermath, describing the hardliners as having no support in the area.

“Ms. Kelly should be advised that it is the actions of people like herself which are putting people at risk. She is a renowned British propagandist and an apologist for the British forces of Occupation.

“Each time the Nationalist population of North Armagh are attacked by the RUC and their cohorts she launches into a tirade against those who believe in the right to national self-determination.

“Dolores Kelly does not believe in due process even under the auspices of her beloved foreign British law. On every occasion she seeks to imply ‘guilt’ on the part of those arrested, despite the fact that they are often subsequently released and certainly have not been convicted of having engaged in any action proscribed by the English government.”

Urgent Appeal