March 7, 2004 Military Operation ongoing in South Armagh


South Armagh Sinn Féin Councillor Elena Martin has hit out at the disruption being caused by an ongoing military operation being carried out by the British Army at Silverbridge outside Crossmaglen.

Cllr. Martin said:

"It appears that a convoy of British Army vehicles were making their way from Newry to Crossmaglen in the early hours of this morning when what appears to be a tanker left the road. The area is sealed off and a crane is at the scene. British Army helicopters have been flying low over homes in the area since around 3am this morning.

"This sort of disruption is unfortunately not an unusual occurrence for people living in this area. However this does not make it any more acceptable. Ten years into a peace process people could justifiably expect that the days of low flying helicopter activity and military convoys to be at an end. They could justifiably expect the days of British Army road closures and harassment of local people to be a thing of the past.

"This incident is a timely reminder for people outside South Armagh that the days of military occupation are not over. That the British government continues to default upon its Good Friday Agreement commitments on demilitarisation at a time when they lecture republicans about alleged IRA activity.

"It is time for the British government to honour its commitments and removed the scourge of its military from this area and other areas across the six counties."