The deputy leader of the SDLP, Mr Seamus Mallon, has called on the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, to give priority to reducing British army activity in south Armagh, which he described as "highly intrusive". Dr Mowlam yesterday met Mr Mallon and community representatives from the area in Newry to discuss their concerns about the security force presence. On Sunday up to 2,000 people attended a protest meeting at a British army observation post at Glassdrummond, Co Armagh.
After yesterday's meeting Mr Mallon said they had given Dr Mowlam "a very clear picture of how little had changed for the people of the area, despite the new peaceful environment".
There was an expectation throughout the community that security measures would be scaled down, he said, adding: "There is not a bottomless pit of patience with the unacceptable profile of security activity in recent months, the complete lack of any sign or gesture that there will be a significant return to normality."
Mr Mallon said that while some areas had seen and felt the consequences of a renewed peace, south Armagh had largely been excluded from that.
Issues raised at the meeting included helicopter noise and disturbance, damage to farm property and livestock, and the removal of barriers and checkpoints and hill-top fortifications.
A statement from the Northern Ireland Office said Dr Mowlam explained that a considerable number of steps had already been taken throughout the North to reduce the impact of security measures on everyday life. Routine military support to the RUC was less than half the level it had been before the ceasefire, and helicopter activity had reduced by around a quarter.
It was announced on Sunday that the checkpoint on the main Belfast-Dublin road at Cloghogue outside Newry would be removed. A nearby fortification will remain. Mr Mallon welcomed this decision and said he hoped "very soon" to see further moves in this direction.
After the meeting the chairman of the South Armagh Concerned Residents and Farmers Committee, Mr Declan Fearon, said security measures might have decreased in some areas, but this was not the case in south Armagh. The army still accompanied all RUC patrols, he said.