Fri, 29 Jul 2005
'The New Nation' Bangladesh
British soldiers began Friday to dismantle a base in Northern Ireland in response to a historic pledge by the Irish Republican Army to lay down its weapons and pursue peaceful means to end British rule.
Belfast, Dublin and London, however, were awaiting the first reciprocal proof from the Roman Catholic paramilitary group of its commitment on Thursday to ending more than 30 years of armed struggle.
In addition, the swift response by the British Army at a base in south Armagh, on the border with the Republic of Ireland, sparked anger among hardline Protestants, who were the main victims of IRA bloodshed.
“In light of yesterday's developments, the chief constable and I have decided that a further reduction in security profile is possible,” said Lieutenant General Sir Reddy Watt, the officer commanding Northern Ireland.
“I can announce that preliminary work is starting on Friday in south Armagh on the removal of the hilltop observation tower at Sugerloaf Hill near Camlough, on the vacation and closure of the base at Forkhill and on the removal of a super-sangar (a lookout post) at Newtownhamilton police station,” he said.
A more general revised security programme was also expected to be published soon, while plans were being made to allow on-the-run paramilitary fugitives to return home, according to news reports.
The developments came a day after the IRA said it would now wage a purely peaceful struggle to free Northern Ireland from British rule, a pledge that its political wing, Sinn Fein, said could help revive the Good Friday peace process to establish an independent power-sharing government on the territory.
But members of the main Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), headed by the veteran Ian Paisley, were furious at the speedy reaction by the British Army, which still has some 10,500 troops in the region.
“It's criminally irresponsible of the government to do that, given what has gone on in those border areas,” said Arlene Foster, a senior DUP member.
“The government seems quite happy to act on words alone,” she said.
“It's startling that when the IRA give a statement saying they will stop what they should never have been doing, that the government acts so soon.”
In contrast, a House of Commons lawmaker for Sinn Fein, the main Catholic party headed by Gerry Adams and the political wing of the IRA, welcomed the military action.
“The start made on Friday must be built upon in the days and weeks ahead, not just in South Armagh but across the six counties,” said Conor Murphy.
“The demilitarisation of communities is an important element in consolidating the progress already made and ensuring that we build a new future free from conflict and division.” Political leaders said the IRA's every move would be scrutinised following a string of failed ceasefires in the past and a series of allegations about robbery and murder.
“It's up to the IRA to deliver and they will be watched and we will be scrutinising everything,” said Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain.
“By actively shutting down I don't just mean bullets and bombs, I mean punishment beatings, criminality, targeting and the robbing of banks,” he told BBC radio.
Hain looked set to call new talks with all sides in the political process in a bid to restore devolution following the IRA order to its members to dump arms and achieve a united Ireland through democratic means.
Discussions are expected to begin in September, by which time the British and Irish governments hope the militant group will have completed the arms decommissioning process.
Canadian General John de Chastelain, the independent overseer of the weapons decommissioning, is due to meet an IRA representative in the coming days as part of plans to empty the arms dumps.
Two clergymen—one Protestant, one Catholic—have been chosen to scrutinise the destruction along with the general.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern acknowledged on the BBC that it would be impossible to rebuild trust overnight nor within a few weeks.
“But I do hope that over a period of months as we see, hopefully, that all of these (disarmament) issues are fulfilled, it should allow us to get back to the business of trying to implement the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions,” he said.
This accord temporarily ended violence in Northern Ireland and introduced a semi-autonomous assembly and executive in which Catholic and Protestant parties shared power.
The IRA move was welcomed around the world, with the European Union joining the chorus on Friday.
The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was in Laos, called it a “historic event.”
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