The Five Demands

Il governo britannico si sbilancia sulle valutazioni della minaccia dissidente. Allertata la popolazione.

Theresa May, Ministro degli Interni inglese, ha per la prima volta reso noto il reale livello di minaccia posta dall’IRA sul territorio britannico.
“Il direttore generale dei servizi di sicurezza mi ha informato di aver elevato la minaccia posta dal terrorismo irlandese nei confronti della Gran Bretagna da moderato a considerevole, il che significa che un attacco potrebbe essere imminente”.
“I giudizi sono basati su una vasta gamma di fattori, tra cui l’intenzione e le capacità dei gruppi terroristici.
“Questa è la prima volta che abbiamo pubblicato la valutazione della minaccia irlandese legati alla Gran Bretagna. Questo è nell’interesse della trasparenza e  per incoraggiare i cittadini a rimanere vigili”, volendo la May dimostrare che “il primo e più importante compito del governo” è la protezione e la sicurezza del popolo britannico.
Allerta quindi, non allarme.
Suzanne Breen, del Sunday Tribune, ha sottolinea come un attentato in Inghilterrà godrebbe di una cassa di risonanza nemmeno lontanamente paragonbile a quello che otterrebbe in Irlanda del Nord.
Lo stato di allerta è aumentato di grado dopo le dichiarazioni recentemente rilasciate dal Real IRA, con le quali ha minacciato pubblicamente istituti bancari  ed altre istituzioni finanziarie della City di Londra, accusandoli di “finanziamento al sistema coloniale e capitalista del Regno Unito”.
Henry McDonald, editore del Guardian nella sua edizione irlandese, dubita che i dissidenti “abbiano la capacità di mettere in scena qualcosa di spettacolare come abbiamo visto ne La City di Londra – Bishopsgate (1993), Canary Wharf (1996 )- ad opera del Provisional IRA. Questo richiese una enorme operazione di contrabbando, portando più che ingenti quantità di esplosivi, fertilizzanti , grossi camion, ecc Possono farlo? Questo è discutibile. Possono fare qualcosa su scala minore, un obiettivo simbolico “.

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Dissident threat ‘substantial’ – Government (U TV)
The threat level to Great Britain from Irish-related terrorism has gone from moderate to substantial, meaning an attack is a “strong possibility”, Home Secretary Theresa May has said.
It is the first time that this threat level has been published, the Home Office said.
Mrs May said: “The Director-General of the Security Service has informed me that he has raised the threat to Great Britain from Irish-related terrorism from moderate to substantial, meaning that an attack is a strong possibility.
“Judgments are based on a broad range of factors, including the intent and capabilities of terrorist groups.
“This is the first time we have published the Irish-related threat assessment to Great Britain. This is in the interests of transparency and to encourage people to remain vigilant.
Mrs May said “the first and most important duty of government” is the protection and security of the British people.
“We have been consistent in stating that the threat to the UK from terrorism is real and serious.
“The balance we aim to strike is keeping people alert but not alarmed.
“I would urge the public to report any suspicious activity to the police and security services in their continuing efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity.”
Fears of an attack on next week’s Conservative Party conference in Birmingham were raised a number of weeks ago.
“One bomb in Britain is worth dozens in Northern Ireland because of the publicity”, Sunday Tribune Northern Editor, Suzanne Breen, explained on UTV Live.
“Whichever dissident groups manage to carry out an attack in Britain will find itself getting a lot of recruits and will establish itself as the main threat to the peace process”.
MI5
Last week, the head of MI5 warned dissident could attempt to mount a new wave of terrorist attacks in Britain.
Jonathan Evans, the director-general of the Security Service, said there had been a “persistent rise” in “activity and ambition” by dissident groups in Northern Ireland over the past three years.
His warning came after the Real IRA, publicly threatened to target banks and other financial institutions in the City of London, accusing them of “financing Britain’s colonial and capitalist system”.
The Guardian’s Ireland Editor Henry McDonald said MI5 failed to anticipate the rise in the threat level.
“I doubt they have the capability to stage the sort of spectaculars we saw in the City of London – Bishopsgate, 1993, Canary Wharf, 1996 – from the Provisional IRA. That required an enormous smuggling operation, bringing over huge amounts of explosives, fertiliser, big trucks, etc. Can they do that? That’s questionable. They may do something on a smaller scale but a symbolic target,” he told UTV.
Mr McDonald says MI5 didn’t “foresee the upsurge of the RIRA and CIRA for the last 18 months.”
“It’s a bit of an admission that they have to re-focus on these groups”.
MI5 took over intelligence primacy from the PSNI in 2007 under the terms of the St Andrews Agreement.
“The threat level against our people and our police officers has been substantial to severe for a long time but MI5 did little enough about it”, SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie said.
“The threat on this side of the Irish Sea is far too severe for us to leave it to unaccountable agencies with a shady past in the north,” she added.
DUP leader Peter Robinson said dissidents have no support within the wider community in Northern Ireland.
“The continued existence of such groups is in direct defiance of the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland who have expressed clearly their desire for peace and stability. It is a worrying sign that the intelligence services have upgraded the threat level, which underlines the need for adequate police resources to tackle this threat and stamp it out completely”, said the First Minister.
The dissident threat remains lower than the overall threat level to the UK from international terrorism, published by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (Jtac), which remains at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.