Friday, April 11, 2008

Sinn Féin Critical of British Army Recruitment in Portadown

Craigavon Sinn Féin Councillor and Ógra activist Johnny McGibbon has criticised the announcement of a British Army open day in Portadown this weekend. The event has seen advertising and posters being distributed through local papers in the Craigavon area.

Cllr. McGibbon stated,

“The British Army is misleading young people with promises of ‘rewarding careers and part-time jobs’, ‘great pay’ and ‘all the action and adventure you can handle’, the truth however is much different. Young people will find themselves in battle zones and war torn nations, without any hope of the glamorous careers being advertised to them in Portadown.”

He continued,

“As a young republican, I believe British Army recruitment in Ireland continues to be unacceptable. While I accept that many young unionists may not have the same view of the British Army as I do, I would call on them to reject these attempts to recruit them into discredited, illegal wars which could lead to them losing their lives. As we have seen in Britain, the families of many dead British soldiers are asking why did their loved ones have to die.”

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Young people will find themselves in battle zones and war torn nations, without any hope of the glamorous careers being advertised to them in Portadown.”

Perhaps, those young people will end up in British Army units in occupied nations - like Ireland.

Maybe the only problem for SF/OSF is not the continued occupation, but how off-duty occupation troops behave.

The recent statement by Willie Clarke MLA (SF) comes to mind - not about as to why British troops remain here, but how they behave in Newcastle at the weekends when they're off-duty.

Anonymous said...

Republican activists in SF/OSF have spearheaded Demilitarisation campaigns across the north, the above comment bewilders me. The commitment by SF/OSF to dismantling the Brit War Machine in Ireland has not only been highlighted vocally but also very blatantly in protests, demos, marchs and public meetings.

C

Anonymous said...

brits out