“They were the ones who caused army checkpoints to be put in place.”
Following Arlene Foster’s recent comments about the border in Ireland, RTÉ’s Morning Ireland asked DUP MP Sammy Wilson to offer his views on the issue and clarify Foster’s remarks.
As you may know, during a recent interview in Westminster, the DUP leader said: “You know, as someone who lived through The Troubles, we never had a hard border in Ireland.”
Foster then went on to describe the idea of a hard border in Ireland as “a bit of a nonsense”.
On this topic, Morning Ireland asked Sammy Wilson to clarify this stance. They also stated that Foster’s remarks can be seen as disingenuous and hurtful to the people that died during The Troubles.
“Ironically the only hard border we ever had in Northern Ireland was a hard border which resulted from the actions of Republicans. People who wanted a united Ireland,” Wilson said.
“They were the ones who caused army checkpoints to be put in place, army patrols, watchtowers etc. I think it’s significant and I think the point she (Arlene Foster) was trying to make was that even with all of that infrastructure in place, there was still not a hard border ie. you could not stop the illegal movement of goods across the border and I think that’s what Arlene Foster was referring to.
Mr Wilson then stated his opinion that the issue of a hard border being imposed is a “con trick.”
“That should be a lesson to both the Irish Government and the EU and anybody who falls for this con trick of a hard border being imposed – 50,000 troops couldn’t impose a hard border, so how on earth do the EU believe that putting a lot of barbed poles across roads and putting a few officials to search vehicles that there’s going to be a hard border,” he said.
Late last night, Foster released a statement after Theresa May’s Brexit deal was voted down.
She stated that her party “will work with the Government constructively to achieve a better deal. That is our focus. Whilst some may wish to use this defeat to boost their political ambitions, we will give the Government the space to set out a plan to secure a better deal. Reassurances whether in the form of letters or warm words, will not be enough. The Prime Minister must now go back to the European Union and seek fundamental change to the Withdrawal Agreement.We want an orderly exit from the European Union with a sensible deal which works for Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.”
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