Second report by the IMC.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Tuesday July 20, 2004 16:45 by Shinner

British are failing to demilitarise.

The second report of the IMC published today shows the high levels of troops that still exist in the 6 counties.
In the North the troop levels currently stand at 15,000. This compared with the 8,500 troops committed to Iraq, which is a war zone. If the situation is to be truly normalised in the North then these numbers must be drastically reduced immediately.
The report also notes that the British are still flying helicopters for some 16,500 hours. They (army) are still being stationed in police stations.
In areas such as South Armagh soldiers are still involved in the systematic harassment of the local residents. They still man 10 watchtowers along the border. They still maintain 24 military installations across the 6 counties.
One of the most important elements of the GFA for republicans was the commitment of the British to demilitarise. Despite the fact that those republican guns have been silent for 7 years the British have singularly failed to live up to their commitments. Republicans cannot continue to live up to their side of the agreement only for the British to ignore their responsibilities.