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Soldiers granted special powers
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
The move comes as Operation Banner - the Army's support role for the police - ends at midnight after almost four decades.
The new powers will allow soldiers to stop and question anyone about their movements - and hold them indefinitely until they answer.
Anyone refusing to co-operate could face fines of up to £5,000.
The PSNI will also be granted similar powers.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Office said the special powers were necessary because the Army could still be called in to support the PSNI.
"We hope that it won't be necessary to have troops on the streets again. But we must be prepared and as long as there is the potential for serious public order incidents, the Army should be available to support the police and this role requires the military to have powers over and above the ordinary citizen," a spokesperson said.
However, Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch described the move as ironic.
"There's a definite irony in having the troops move out on July 31 giving them powers for arrest on August 1. On the face of it, there's no rationale for that," she said.
Operation Banner, an emergency measure introduced in August 1969 became the British Army's longest continuous campaign. It brought almost a quarter of a million troops onto the streets of Northern Ireland - 763 of whom were killed by paramilitaries.
Today a garrison of only 5,000 remains in 10 bases across the province.
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