29 July 1999 Edition
Dublin delegation in South Armagh
Deirdre Feehan
There will be no reduction in British military activity in south Armagh, a Dublin government delegation was told after a visit to the area last week.
Within 48 hours of the visit by a delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs on 22 July, the British army said ``the threat from republican paramilitaries remains higher in south Armagh than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. As a result, further reductions in military presence are not imminent''.
The British Army also said that land confiscated from three Crossmaglen families would not be returned to them. ``There was no possibility of returning the area requisitioned from landowners living adjacent to the base,'' the British Army said in a statement on 24 July.
The delegation had been invited by the South Armagh Farmers and Residents Committee (SAFRC) who sent a report to Dublin about the effect on peoples' lives of British army/RUC activity in the area.
Toni Carragher said that delegation leader Ray Bassett had confirmed that he would consult Bertie Ahern and David Andrews about the problems and the need for a quick resolution. The statement by the British Army, she said, has outraged the community of South Armagh. ``Residents argue that their propaganda statements are totally unfounded and are being used as a weapon against the nationalist community in south Armagh.''
There will be no reduction in British military activity in south Armagh, a Dublin government delegation was told after a visit to the area last week.
Within 48 hours of the visit by a delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs on 22 July, the British army said ``the threat from republican paramilitaries remains higher in south Armagh than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. As a result, further reductions in military presence are not imminent''.
The British Army also said that land confiscated from three Crossmaglen families would not be returned to them. ``There was no possibility of returning the area requisitioned from landowners living adjacent to the base,'' the British Army said in a statement on 24 July.
The delegation had been invited by the South Armagh Farmers and Residents Committee (SAFRC) who sent a report to Dublin about the effect on peoples' lives of British army/RUC activity in the area.
Toni Carragher said that delegation leader Ray Bassett had confirmed that he would consult Bertie Ahern and David Andrews about the problems and the need for a quick resolution. The statement by the British Army, she said, has outraged the community of South Armagh. ``Residents argue that their propaganda statements are totally unfounded and are being used as a weapon against the nationalist community in south Armagh.''