Hard border will provoke ‘an eruption of civil disobedience’ Cameras and other installations would be at risk from dissident Republicans Raphael Hogarth. The Times. London. Saturday, April 7, 2018 The return of physical checks on the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland would cause an “eruption of civil disobedience”, it has been claimed. In an extensive project The Times has talked to communities along the border in Ireland as well as to those living on borders in six other European countries to investigate possible solutions. Residents in Ireland say that installing physical infrastructure such as cameras would incite violence. The Police Service of Northern Ireland believes that dissident republicans would see the infrastructure as “fair game” and would attack it in the same way as the IRA did customs posts during the Troubles. This view is shared by the Irish government. The British government has failed to convince business or customs experts that it has an alternative plan. Although the UK and the EU agreed last December to avoid any new “physical infrastructure” on the Irish border, Brexit talks remain deadlocked on the issue. Theresa May insists that the whole of the UK will leave the customs union and single market after Brexit, which Brussels says will “inevitably” lead to frictions in trade. It would result in the Republic and Northern Ireland charging different tariffs on goods crossing the border and they could have different rules on which goods are allowed into their markets. Declan Fearon, 60, of South Armagh, said that he campaigned against Brexit because he remembered “exactly what it was like” when customs posts in Ireland became terrorist targets before the creation of the European single market. “You think people will sit back and allow roads like these to be closed?” Mr Fearon said, standing on a footpath that connects a disused church in Northern Ireland with a graveyard in the Republic. “I’d like to take bets on how long those cameras would last. My God, when they were prepared to pull down army towers that were here, what would they do to a camera? A fellow in the pub told me the other night: ‘I’m almost 70 years of age, and I’d be the first one out to take them down’.” The British government has proposed an innovative “customs partnership” to avoid a hard border. Ministers say that the authorities can electronically track every good to its destination to determine tariffs, eliminating the need for border checks. HM Revenue & Customs says this system would take five to seven years to develop and industry is not convinced it is possible. The Times has found that the most advanced “smart” borders in Europe still involve physical infrastructure: • At Sweden’s border with Norway, which is inside the single market, there are x-ray machines to scan lorries for contraband, cameras to spot smugglers and uniformed officers perform checks • At France’s border with Switzerland, which participates in parts of the single market, businesses complain of queues, saying that it “takes an hour to an hour and a half” to fill out forms. • At Bulgaria’s border with Turkey, which is in a customs union with the EU, drivers can wait for up to 24 hours. The Brexit department said it was committed to avoiding a hard border “including related checks or controls”.
Posted By: April 07, 2018
Cameras and other installations would be at risk from dissident Republicans
Raphael Hogarth. The Times. London. Saturday, April 7, 2018
The return of physical checks on the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland would cause an “eruption of civil disobedience,” it has been claimed.
In an extensive project, The Times has talked to communities along the border in Ireland as well as to those living on borders in six other European countries to investigate possible solutions.
Residents in Ireland say that installing physical infrastructure such as cameras would incite violence. The Police Service of Northern Ireland believes that dissident republicans would see the infrastructure as “fair game” and would attack it in the same way as the IRA did customs posts during the Troubles. This view is shared by the Irish government.
The British government has failed to convince business or customs experts that it has an alternative plan. Although the UK and the EU agreed last December to avoid any new “physical infrastructure” on the Irish border, Brexit talks remain deadlocked on the issue.
Theresa May insists that the whole of the UK will leave the customs union and single market after Brexit, which Brussels says will “inevitably” lead to frictions in trade. It would result in the Republic and Northern Ireland charging different tariffs on goods crossing the border and they could have different rules on which goods are allowed into their markets.
Declan Fearon, 60, of South Armagh, said that he campaigned against Brexit because he remembered “exactly what it was like” when customs posts in Ireland became terrorist targets before the creation of the European single market.
“You think people will sit back and allow roads like these to be closed?” Mr. Fearon said, standing on a footpath that connects a disused church in Northern Ireland with a graveyard in the Republic. “I’d like to take bets on how long those cameras would last. My God, when they were prepared to pull down army towers that were here, what would they do to a camera? A fellow in the pub told me the other night: ‘I’m almost 70 years of age, and I’d be the first one out to take them down’.”
The British government has proposed an innovative “customs partnership” to avoid a hard border. Ministers say that the authorities can electronically track every good to its destination to determine tariffs, eliminating the need for border checks. HM Revenue & Customs says this system would take five to seven years to develop and industry is not convinced it is possible.
The Times has found that the most advanced “smart” borders in Europe still involve physical infrastructure:
• At Sweden’s border with Norway, which is inside the single market, there are x-ray machines to scan lorries for contraband, cameras to spot smugglers and uniformed officers perform checks
• At France’s border with Switzerland, which participates in parts of the single market, businesses complain of queues, saying that it “takes an hour to an hour and a half” to fill out forms.
• At Bulgaria’s border with Turkey, which is in a customs union with the EU, drivers can wait for up to 24 hours.
The Brexit department said it was committed to avoiding a hard border “including related checks or controls.”
