British Army in raid on Saoradh HQ
Posted by Jim on October 27, 2018
The British Army were involved in a dawn raid on the national
headquarters of Saoradh in Derry as concerns increase over the
increasing use of British military units in political oppression.
The PSNI police confirmed the 5am operation on Thursday morning in Derry
city centre included a ‘military search’ unit of the British Army. The
raid was followed the next day by separate British Army searches in and
around a farmyard and green areas in the Creggan area.
Saoradh said the recent actions by British Crown forces follows on from
weeks of surveillance operations which have included helicopters,
drones, planes, and undercover members of MI5 and the Special
Reconnaissance Regiment of the British Army.
For its part, the PSNI said it had removed 300 Halloween fireworks from
the Saoradh offices. It claimed that the British Army had been required
to deal with “explosives”, but later admitted that the store-bought
fireworks they found had already been destroyed.
Saoradh said they had confiscated and destroyed the fireworks in
response to community concerns over anti-social activity.
“Having patrolled the area continuously for a number of weeks, Saoradh
activists seized a large quantity of fireworks, something that we have
openly and publicly displayed,” the party said in a statement.
“These fireworks were then taken to Junior McDaid House where they were
dismantled and soaked in water in preparation for other community
representatives to safely dispose of them.”
The raid follows on from others on the homes of local Saoradh activists
where family phones, computers and children’s school work have been
taken seized. The party’s local chairman and vice chairman were also
arrested before being released unconditionally in recent days.
Spokesperson Paddy Gallagher said it was “no coincidence” that the
latest raid came as Saoradh were holding a high-profile launch of a
policy document on Brexit. The party had also been preparing for a
protest to mark the visit of 26 County Taoiseach to the headquarters of
the loyalist marching body, the Apprentice Boys.
He added: “Over the course of the past week British Crown Forces have
directed an onslaught of harassment towards Saoradh activists and this
has culminated in a combined British Army and British Military
Intelligence raid on our party headquarters, despite former Republicans
telling us there is no British Army operating within the Six Counties
anymore.
“It is clear that our party headquarters, our party members and our
support base are being actively targeted in a futile attempt to stop the
public availing of the free services we offer.”
He said British military personnel, British military intelligence and a
Tactical Support Group had been openly operating in the Creggan estate.
“Despite the same old narrative spewed by former republicans and
constitutional nationalists, British soldiers of occupation continue to
remain active within the Six Counties and while they remain we will
continue to oppose them.”
Independent Creggan councillor, Gary Donnelly, said there was anger in
the community at the office raid.
“This reinforces for me the real nature of British policing in Ireland,”
he said. “It’s not community policing. They don’t care about the
community.”
Cllr Donnelly said it was alarming a political party had been targeted
in this manner.
“They were backed up by British soldiers to raid the office of a
political party to score cheap political points. There is anger.”
He pointed out there had been broad support for Saoradh’s seizure of the
fireworks, which, he said, were a scourge in the Creggan area and
elsewhere.
“It was my understanding that they [the PSNI] were told by people who
would support policing about the fireworks problem but that they refused
to act. But when people within the community removed the fireworks,
which are a danger and a menace, then they poured all the resources of
the State into an early morning raid whilst at the same time these
people ignore crime within our community.”