IRA blames British for stalemate

It said its decommissioning in October had been its biggest yet and it had expected something in return. Although expressing frustration, there is no suggestion its ceasefire is in any risk.
The IRA said its October action, as part of a failed choreography to restore the devolved Stormont Assembly, involved “the largest amount of arms to date.” After that, the sequence was put on hold, the statement continued.
“Since then the two governments have not honored their part of it,” it said. “Consequently, there has been no progress on a range of issues involved. The British Government carries the premier responsibility for that.”
The IRA had been expecting major security reforms among other commitments the British government had promised in the terms of the Joint Declaration and the Good Friday agreement.
Republicans have been seeking a reduction in British Army installations, further policing changes, an amnesty for so-called on-the-run fugitives and a speeding up of commitments to equality and changes in the justice system.
One of the demands made by republicans and nationalists is for a reduction in British Army helicopter flyovers, particularly in South Armagh. After a recent helicopter crash in Derry, when two British soldiers were killed, there were renewed demands.
Dominic Bradley, the SDLP assemblyman for Newry and Armagh, highlighted the dangers faced by the people of his constituency due to the high number of British Army helicopter flights over the area.
“Many flights,” he said, “are over built-up areas and they pose a serious threat to the residents of villages as well as people in rural areas. We have already had an incident a few months back when a senior citizen was blown off her feet by the down wind from a helicopter.
“The British government should begin to implement the terms of the Joint Declaration of April 2003, which promised ‘a substantial decrease in military helicopter activity and usage.’ “
In a linked development, it’s been revealed that British soldiers in Northern
Ireland have been banned from wearing the union flag on their uniforms after claims it offended nationalists. The banning order has reportedly infuriated British soldiers posted to Northern Ireland after returning from duty in Iraq, where the wearing of the badge is mandatory.
Lt. Gen. Philip Trousdell, General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland,
personally decided that it was inappropriate for soldiers to wear an emblem that he considered “too emotive in the political climate.”
Trousdell issued the order after complaints from nationalists who claimed that the badge was “provocative.” The ruling has apparently angered senior officers, soldiers and some British MPs. In a letter to a British army magazine, one soldier recently back from Iraq said his battalion was proud to wear the union flag. The soldier, a member of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, wrote: “We have to take them off. It’s a disgrace.”
Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP MP, said the ban was an insult to the unionist majority in Northern Ireland. “I intend tabling a parliamentary question to ask how many complaints the [British] Army has received about the display of the Union flag on soldiers’ uniforms,” he said.
Said Gerald Howarth, a British Conservative Party defense spokesman, “This absurd move reflects the obsession that the Labor Government has to appease republican sentiment.”
Meanwhile, the wife and son of convicted UDA man Johnny “Mad Dog” Adair have appeared in court on drugs charges. Jonathan Adair, 19, of Greater Manchester, appeared at Bolton Crown Court last week, charged with conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.
Gina Adair, 37, is charged with conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. They appeared with two men, a woman and a 13-year-old boy, all from Bolton.
Jonathan Adair was remanded in custody to appear at Bolton Crown Court in February. Gina Adair was granted bail and will appear on the same date. Adair and her four children moved to Bolton in February with a number of other UDA families after being forced out during a UDA feud.
In a separate development in Belfast, Sinn Fein assemblyman, Alex Maskey, is seeking urgent meetings with the British security minister, Jane Kennedy, to discuss the ongoing loyalist campaign against ethnic minorities in the area.
Maskey’s comments come after a racist arson attack on two houses previously used by members of the ethnic minority community. “It is very clear”, he said, “that there is now a campaign in loyalist areas ofSouth Belfast to drive members of ethnic minorities out.
“Over Christmas, in the Donegall Road area, we witnessed two serious assaults and last night two arson attacks. Kennedy has a responsibility here. So far we have heard nothing from her on this issue.”