South Armagh and British Withdrawl
Unfree Citizen1974British troops and the occupationBritish troops and the occupation
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A short time ago the British Army announced that when the present tour of duty of the ‘40 Marine Commandoes’ in the Newry-South Armagh area is over there will be no replacement force being sent there. The much talked about British Withdrawl] will have begun. In fact this process has already started for the Brits have already left their base at Gosford Castle ten miles south of Armagh city. The last straw for the Brits would.seem to have been the humiliating defeat they suffered on the issue of street lighting in Newry in August last — then they were forced to back down on their whole policy and indeed on the many threats they had made. What then is going to happen to the area with the withdrawl of the British?
It is very doubtful whether the RUD/RUC-Reserve or UDR will dare to or indeed be capable of, “‘patrolling”’ the area and the nearest regular army base will be 19 miles away in Armagh. So Newry-South Down will become in effect a ‘Free’ area. This will be an important situation in the Irish struggle — even if it is only of just what is meant by liberation.
In that situation the people to be wary of are the discredited SDLP. They have put all their eggs in the British parliamentary basket and it would not be surprising to see them demand a British military presence locally.
Newry-South Armagh must become as near as possible, self-governing, with a Council for the area representing all anti-Imperialist groups. The Council must take over as much as possible the responsibilities and functions of the area. The experience that can be gained in this area will be invaluable when the British government’s ‘Ulsterisation’ policy has been completed — and the Loyalists stage their next bid for power — on the lines of the anti-Catholic pogroms of 1969 and the UWC strike of May this year.
occupation in Ireland, behind the token freedom, it will raise the question a section of the Irish middle class with is the importance which the the providing markets for goods interests. ;