Daily Ireland Editorial: Stop shooting up a beautiful beach
Editor: Colin O’Carroll
06/06/2006
The use of a Co Derry beach by the British army for its military exercises is one of the clearest physical signs that the North of the country is still under military occupation, despite the moves, mostly by republicans, to take the gun out of Irish politics.
While the British blast the beauty spot of Benone Strand in Co Derry with all kinds of ordnance day and night, setting fire to the vegetation in the sand dunes, local people are denied the chance to take advantage of the beach and its natural assets without fear of being harassed by British soldiers, or possibly worse.
They are also denied the opportunities normally engendered by having such a natural attraction on their doorstep, the chance to develop businesses and tourism in the region that would benefit the entire community.
Tourism to the region is discouraged because of the constant closure of the beach, and people’s natural worries about innocently straying into the middle of a live firing exercise and being blown to bits.
There are stories of innocent anglers being quizzed and harassed by soldiers until they flee, and of others being buzzed by low-flying helicopters that come so close they blow their rods over, while still others have been disturbed by amphibious craft that come ploughing up the beach.
On top of this there are the ever-present high-powered cameras that follow every move, making people fearful and stressed.
It’s no wonder that many visitors vow never to return.
Another factor of the scandal that is a British army firing range in this area of outstanding natural beauty and scientific interest, is that they are using it to practice their tactics and hone their capacity to kill for the illegal and immoral war in Iraq.
Every time a helicopter strafes the beach and dunes at Benone with heavy-calibre tracer ammunition, it is a practice run for a similar action against the people of Iraq.
In the same way that the Irish government is complicit in the war in Iraq through allowing the Americans unfettered use of Shannon airport to funnel its soldiers and war materiel out to the conflict, and possibly spirit kidnapped people off to secret torture camps, the people of the North are also being made complicit in the illegal actions of Britain in supporting the US in their war.
As the people of Derry look across to the burgeoning development on the similar coastline of the Inishowen peninsula in the Republic just a mile across Lough Foyle, they must be wondering where their peace dividend is.
It’s high time for this modern day Berlin Wall across one of our most beautiful stretches of natural sandy coastline to be removed, and for those who are using it to practice killing people in yet another immoral war to take their weapons home.
