Post by dangeresque on Aug 1, 2007 22:11:44 GMT
The day after Operation Banner ends, the BA is redeployed under new legislation...
Soldiers granted special powers
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
By Chris Thornton
New legislation is due to take effect tonight giving soldiers in
Ulster greater powers than in the rest of the UK.
The move comes as Operation Banner - the Army's support role for the
police - ends at midnight after almost four decades.
The new powers will allow soldiers to stop and question anyone about
their movements - and hold them indefinitely until they answer.
Anyone refusing to co-operate could face fines of up to £5,000.
The PSNI will also be granted similar powers.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Office said the special powers
were necessary because the Army could still be called in to support
the PSNI.
"We hope that it won't be necessary to have troops on the streets
again. But we must be prepared and as long as there is the potential
for serious public order incidents, the Army should be available to
support the police and this role requires the military to have powers
over and above the ordinary citizen," a spokesperson said.
However, Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch described the move
as ironic.
"There's a definite irony in having the troops move out on July 31
giving them powers for arrest on August 1. On the face of it, there's
no rationale for that," she said.
Operation Banner, an emergency measure introduced in August 1969
became the British Army's longest continuous campaign. It brought
almost a quarter of a million troops onto the streets of Northern
Ireland - 763 of whom were killed by paramilitaries.
Today a garrison of only 5,000 remains in 10 bases across the province.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2820610.ece
Soldiers granted special powers
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
By Chris Thornton
New legislation is due to take effect tonight giving soldiers in
Ulster greater powers than in the rest of the UK.
The move comes as Operation Banner - the Army's support role for the
police - ends at midnight after almost four decades.
The new powers will allow soldiers to stop and question anyone about
their movements - and hold them indefinitely until they answer.
Anyone refusing to co-operate could face fines of up to £5,000.
The PSNI will also be granted similar powers.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Office said the special powers
were necessary because the Army could still be called in to support
the PSNI.
"We hope that it won't be necessary to have troops on the streets
again. But we must be prepared and as long as there is the potential
for serious public order incidents, the Army should be available to
support the police and this role requires the military to have powers
over and above the ordinary citizen," a spokesperson said.
However, Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch described the move
as ironic.
"There's a definite irony in having the troops move out on July 31
giving them powers for arrest on August 1. On the face of it, there's
no rationale for that," she said.
Operation Banner, an emergency measure introduced in August 1969
became the British Army's longest continuous campaign. It brought
almost a quarter of a million troops onto the streets of Northern
Ireland - 763 of whom were killed by paramilitaries.
Today a garrison of only 5,000 remains in 10 bases across the province.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2820610.ece