Following the removal of the massive British Military Surveillance base on Faughill Mountain (Romeo 21) in South Armagh, local Republicans and members of the community, led by Sinn Féin Councillor Packie McDonald reclaimed the base by erecting a number of National Flags.
Cllr McDonald stated "This base was in place for over 20 years, at its height saw up to 40 flights per day. This was alongside a massive amount of High Tech surveillance and monitoring equipment, which exposed the local population to high levels of microwave radiation and has been the cause of major health concerns for all. This base also had 14 spy cameras, that were used to spy on local members of the GAA club, the club premises, and other members of the community”.
The Slieve Gullion area Councillor told those present that the Sinn Féin peace strategy had delivered for the people of South Armagh who were now beginning to see some kind of normality.
“Hopefully in the future we will see a peace dividend that will remove the barriers to economic growth and inward investment,” said Councillor McDonald.
The Sinn Féin elected representative also said “Republicans have carried out for very many years protests, pickets and demonstrations against these bases within our communities, I want to thank all of those who supported us in our actions throughout those years to get the message across to the Brits to demilitarise South Armagh and rid the area of the British War Machine”
He concluded by stating “It is high time that all Political representatives for this area supported the full and total demilitarisation of South Armagh. Helicopter flights operating morning, noon and night and carrying heavily armed British military personnel and RUC/PSNI are still all too frequent in our communities” |
