Adams celebrates removal of watchtower
Gerry Adams today celebrated the removal of a military watchtower despised by republicans in west Belfast and suggested a possible relocation on the Rev Ian Paisley’s church rooftop.
But as soldiers dismantled the Divis Tower observation post as part of a sweeping security scale down in Northern Ireland, the Sinn Féin president refused to offer any new clues on the IRA’s disarmament process.
“I’m not going to speculate on any of that,” he insisted.
“The IRA has made its commitments on that. It’s between the IRA and the IICD (Independent International Commission on Decommissioning).”
The surveillance equipment on top of the 19-storey Divis Tower accommodation block has been used by the British army since the 1970s when violence raged on the streets of Belfast.
For republicans living in its shadow, the installation was a symbol of oppression used to spy on their community.
After the IRA’s declaration that its armed campaign was finished, however, the British government ordered the post to be pulled down in an operation expected to take months to complete.
Mr Adams said the removal would be a relief for residents in his constituency forced to endure the military presence.
The west Belfast MP mischievously added that it could be rebuilt at the church in the east of the city where Mr Paisley preaches regularly.
He said: “If Ian Paisley wants it to be transferred to the tower of the Free Presbyterian church, to the tower of the Martyrs’ Memorial church, that’s a matter for him.
“But he must welcome the fact that these people (in Divis Tower) are going to be given respite.”
More seriously, Mr Adams accepted the DUP was never likely to be pressing for a swift return to sharing power with Sinn Féin after the Provisionals announced they were dumping their guns.
But, with leaders of the main unionist party still refusing to enter direct negotiations with republicans, Mr Adams asked if Mr Paisley would have preferred that the IRA had not made its move.
He also challenged British prime minister Tony Blair to advise the DUP, satying it was time to move on with the peace process and restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.
But as engineers continued to dismantle equipment high above him, the Sinn Féin leader was quick to wish them good riddance.
“I’m and Irish republican and the British army should never have been here at all,” he claimed.
“They serve no useful purpose here on Divis Tower.
“We are told they were there for our protection but people were killed in my constituency office, people were killed in this neighbourhood, all within sight of the squaddies on this tower.”
