‘This is what an occupation looks like.’ – Lasair Dhearg
Belfast branch activists today visited sites across Belfast as part of a campaign to highlight the continued occupation of the Six Counties and tackle Stormont’s PSNI ‘normalisation’ strategy.
Speaking outside the heavily fortified PSNI barracks situated at New Barnsley, West Belfast, Lasair Dhearg spokesperson Aindriú Mac Ruaidhrí said, “The walls that you see behind me, belong to New Barnsley PSNI barracks. It’s thick exterior, looming large over nearby homes, is designed to withstand significant blasts, and it’s lookout posts, peering constantly and suspiciously over the local community, are fortified with ballistic glass and bomb-proof brickwork. Decorated with high powered cameras, communications towers and other spying equipment, it watches carefully as neighbours call to neighbours homes or stop at nearby shops.”
“Hidden behind it’s defences, are rows of armoured military type vehicles, designed to withstand small arms and machine-gun fire. These are the vehicles that creep through our neighbourhoods in the dark of night and in the early morning, putting doors up halls and pulling family homes apart.”
“The gunmen that ride in those jeeps are all armed with Glock 9mm handguns and often carry Heckler & Koch G36 Machine guns – the same machine guns that were deployed in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria because they can pump out over 750 rounds per minute – and they give them to so called ‘police officers’.”
“This is all paid for with a yearly budget topping 1.1Billion British Pounds – Over 2 million of which went straight into the pockets of informers in recent years.”
Aindriú continued, “Across the occupied Six Counties of Ireland, a small area of just over 5000 square miles, there are almost 80 of these heavily fortified military installations – complimented with additional British Army bases and personnel.”
“So remember”, he said, “the next time you see the PSNI trundling along your road on bicycles with their pretend smiles and photo ops – look past them, and remember the thick walls that stand behind me, because this, is not a ‘Police Station’ – this is what an occupation looks like.”
ENDS
