Posted by Jim on November 8, 2017
“The fact that the police don’t represent society and that its senior officers are overwhelmingly Unionist [Loyalist/Protestant] accounts for the PSNI’s hostility.”
Brian Feeney. Irish News. Belfast. November 8, 2017
How do you solve a problem like the PSNI? Seventeen years ago, it emerged as a bright shiny new police service – service, not force – civilians in uniform.
Hopes were high that with unprecedented transparency, accountability and a 50-50 recruitment policy it would develop to be representative of society in The North.
Let’s be clear about this. No one wanted a reliable, impartial, effective, representative police service more than northern Nationalists. They’d never had one. They still haven’t.
The bad news is that all indications are the PSNI isn’t going to become representative of society, isn’t on track to be, and because of that hasn’t managed to treat nationalists or manifestations of nationalism impartially. We’ll come back to that later.
The biggest blow to preventing a representative police service emerging was the success of Unionists in stopping 50-50 recruitment. Unionists [Loyalists/Protestants] don’t want a representative police service, never have, and have worked consistently to prevent one. In one of the many stupid decisions he made, the then proconsul [Northern Ireland Secretary of State] Owen Paterson, a caricature English blowhard about ‘Ahland’[Ireland], mollified his DUP sycophants and abolished 50-50 recruiting in 2011. Of all actions, that one, vindicated Gerry Adams’s description of him as a ‘complete tube’.
In 2015 there were 400 new recruits to the PSNI. Seventy-seven of them were Catholic -19 per cent. Bit of a drop from 50-50 eh? About 200 police leave every year. Increasingly the majority of them is Catholic. Soon we’ll be getting down to around 25 per cent Catholics in the PSNI. Not good. At senior level, it’s far, far worse. You might have read here last year that of the 7,500 or so full-time and part-time officers about 500 were of the rank of inspector or above. Only ninety-two of those were Catholic, probably fewer now. That means about one per cent of the PSNI of the rank of inspector, or above, is Catholic. What’s being done about this disparity? Nothing.
Outside the PSNI in the real world, the Equality Commission requires affirmative action to change that state of affairs. Not in the PSNI. That’s clear neglect by the Department of Justice and NIO but then what would you expect? No nationalists involved. Sinn Féin silent.
The PSNI doesn’t look like The North. The majority of children in school is Catholic. In third level education, 47 per cent of students are Catholic, 30 per cent Protestant and the rest other denominations.
Yet in the PSNI, 75 per cent aremanifestations of Nationalism compared to appeasement of Loyalist manifestations. One example will suffice.
You might have noticed a mild letter in this paper last Friday from a Tyrone GAA fan. He pointed out that after Tyrone won their third All-Ireland in 2008 the cavalcade from Dublin went up through Monaghan where the Gardaí turned out in light-hearted mood wearing false beards, like many of the Tyrone team that year, and waved them on. As the writer said in a telling phrase, when the team crossed the border ‘into OUR OWN COUNTY’, the PSNI stopped the cavalcade to check for tax discs. Utterly disgraceful given the day that was in it. When the difference in the behavior of the Gardaí celebrating the historic win was pointed out, the PSNI threatened to arrest the complainant. Welcome home with Sam Maguire.
In Mid-Ulster where that GAA cavalcade was headed, 66 per cent of the population are Catholic and massively supportive of the GAA. If there’d been a senior Catholic PSNI officer in charge when the winning team entered their own county the reaction may have been different. Maybe not, but that’s another story. The important point is that police behavior that night was not an isolated incident. There are numerous examples of hostile behavior towards people and players attending GAA matches.
In the last week, there’s been a lot of debate about the GAA and the PSNI. There are two sides to the story.
Posted by Jim on November 7, 2017
Emma Rogan, MLA.
Connla Young.Irish News. Belfast.
Monday, November 6, 2017 THE daughter of a man killed in the Loughinisland massacre has strongly criticised the PSNI after it requested an investigation into how sensitive documents came to be used in the film No Stone Unturned.
The documentary, due for general release this Friday, named three people suspected of involvement in the UVF gun attack that claimed lives of six innocent men as they watched the Republic of Ireland play a World Cup match in a bar in June 1994.
It also claimed that the wife of one of the suspected gunmen gave his name to police shortly after the massacre.
The man, Ronald Hawthorne, was arrested after the attack but has never been charged.
The film by Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney also alleges that during an interrogation of Hawthorne an officer tried to convince him to kill a prominent republican.
It comes after a Police Ombudsman’s report published in June last year identified “catastrophic failings” in the RUC investigation and found that collusion was a significant feature in the murders.
In a statement issued last week, Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin acknowledged the “hurt and anger” felt by families and said police remain “firmly committed” to apprehending those responsible for the attack and will be reviewing the documentary.
However, he added that police were aware that sensitive documents thought to originate from the Police Ombudsman’s Office are suspected to have been used in the film.
He said Durham police are already investigating how a solicitor’s firm obtained separate documents from the ombudsman’s office.
“While there is nothing to suggest these matters are linked, the PSNI has requested that the existing investigation is extended to include this recent suspected theft of sensitive material,” he said.
The film makes clear that the Loughinisland documents were posted to the filmmakers unsolicited.
Last night Sinn Féin MLA Emma Rogan, whose father Adrian Rogan was killed, slammed the PSNI response.
“Six men are dead and families still devastated but they want to go after a document,” she said.
“A document that’s in a film that gives the families the truth.
“How dare they distract from their responsibilities to us and all the other families.”
Ms Rogan described the PSNI’s response as “cruel”.
“The families’ first concern is for the perpetrators to be brought to justice,” she said.
“But the PSNI statement provides us with a cruel insight into their priorities.
“Their only investigative action arising from the film, and the work of journalist and lawyers to expose the truth, is an allegation of theft against the film makers.
“It’s stunning and disgraceful in equal measure.”
The PSNI could not be contacted last night for comment
Posted by Jim on
Adams: the DUP is finding it difficult to accept NI no longer ‘a Protestant state’
Gerry Adams has said the DUP is struggling to reach a compromise with his party because Unionist leaders once boasted of having “a Protestant parliament for a Protestant state”.
Gerry Adams has said the DUP is struggling to reach a compromise with his party because unionist leaders once boasted of having “a Protestant parliament for a Protestant state”.
Speaking in Armagh last night, the Sinn Fein president insisted his party was committed to making the ongoing negotiations work and to restoring power-sharing at Stormont.
But he claimed the British Government had “no investment” in the talks process and “no affinity with it”. He also accused Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of trying to “wash his hands of the North” and said it felt like “John Bruton was back in office”.
Mr Adams claimed he didn’t know if the current talks would succeed but he stressed that his party’s Northern leader Michelle O’Neill was committed to making them work.
The Sinn Fein president said the political impasse could be overcome only by the DUP and his party working together.
“That will present many challenges for us. It also presents problems for the DUP leadership,” he said.
“What we need to do collectively is to accept that a rights-based society is in everyone’s interest. Moving to that position given that their leaders used to boast that they had a Protestant parliament and a Protestant state, is very difficult for political unionism.
“But on the other hand it is self-evident that this is no longer a Protestant state. And the notion of a Protestant parliament should never have been acceptable. No thoughtful unionist really believes that this would ever be acceptable in these modern times.”
Mr Adams added that Arlene Foster’s party must recognise “that they can only be in political office on the basis of a modern political dispensation bedded in equality and fairness”.
He continued: “In other words, they have to treat the rest of us as equals and we have to treat them as equals. Is the DUP leadership up for this? We will know soon enough.”
Turning to London, Mr Adams said: “For their part, this British Government has no investment in the process, and no affinity with it. It is beset with its own difficulties and is only in power with DUP support.”
He claimed Secretary of State James Brokenshire had been “less than helpful”. Brexit was “a disaster” for everyone in Ireland including “unionist business people and farmers who must be appalled by the DUP leadership’s attitude and their disrespect for the vote of the people”.
With Leo Varadkar increasingly attacking his party in the Dail, Mr Adams said the Taoiseach shouldn’t think rivalry between Fine Gael and Sinn Fein was more important than the process to restore devolution.
“It is not. He must rise above this. It is crucial that he makes the North a priority, not just because of Brexit… but because of the obligations and responsibilities of his office,” the Sinn Fein president said.
He maintained that Mr Varadkar could play a meaningful role in efforts to restore the institutions.
“If he has the political will, he clearly has the ability and will get huge public support for efforts to persuade the British to fulfil their obligations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MP Elisha McCallion has slammed Mr Brokenshire for refusing to meet the Joint Oireachtas Good Friday Implementation Committee several times.
“This comes alongside his refusal to meet with groups from the Irish language sector. Mr Brokenshire has no such problems when meeting groups like the Orange Order,” she said. “The failure by the British Government to act with rigorous impartiality as required by the Good Friday Agreement has contributed to the current political crisis.”
The Northern Ireland Office didn’t respond to a request for comment
Posted by Jim on October 28, 2017
Dublin refuses to recognise Catalonia’s independence
The 26 County state has said it will not recognise Catalonia’s
declaration of independence from Spain, according to the Department of
Foreign Affairs in Dublin.
“The resolution of the current crisis needs to be within Spain’s
constitutional framework and through Spain’s democratic institutions,”
it said.
However, in Scotland, the Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, Fiona
Hyslop said the people of Catalonia “must have the ability to determine
their own future.”
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams TD described the declaration of
independence as a “historic step” towards Catalan statehood, and
expressed his solidarity with the people.
“The right to self-determination is a corner stone of international law
and this declaration must be respected,” he said. “I believe it is now
incumbent on the Spanish government to agree an internationally mediated
process on the way forward. That is what the Catalan government have
offered. That goodwill must be reciprocated.
“It is time for the Spanish government to seize the opportunity for
dialogue. I would encourage the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to urgently press
for this process with the Spanish Prime Minister.”
However, neither the Taoiseach nor the Irish President, Michael D.
Higgins, have issued statements on the situation.
In dramatic scenes yesterday, a motion to declare independence was
approved by the 135-member Catalan parliament, with 70 votes in favor.
Opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber in protest ahead of the
vote.
After the vote officials and lawmakers cried “Llibertat! [Freedom]”.
An emotional President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont called on his
people to remain peaceful. “In the days ahead we must keep to our values
of pacifism and dignity. It’s in our, in your hands, to build the
republic,” he said.
Outside parliament, thousands who had gathered cheered the news, some
dancing and raising a toast. In Barcelona, people crowded around TV sets
to watch the historic events unfold.
The Sant Jaume Square outside the government office was packed with
thousands of people celebrating. Many were draped with the “Estelada”
flag that adds a blue triangle to the red and yellow Catalan flag and
has become a symbol of the separatist struggle.
“I feel so emotional after the huge fight we went through, we finally
got it,” said Rosalina Cordera Torelles. Another woman said she was
relieved. “Now we are Catalan at last,” said Rita Carboneras. “We can be
ourselves.”
But despite the referendum and declaration of independence, the
government in Madrid still claims to still rule over Catalonia. Both it
and Spain’s Constitutional Court have insisted the declaration is
“illegal” under Spanish law.
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said it was a move that “not only goes against
the law but is a criminal act.” He declared he was “sacking” the head of
the Catalan regional police and shutting down the Catalan government’s
overseas offices. A spokesman for Spain’s prosecutor’s office said it
would bring charges of “rebellion” against prominent Catalans.
In Ireland, a variety of protests and events are being organised in
support of Catalania, with the involvement of Sinn Fein, the 1916
Societies and People before Profit.
People before Profit said it would be submitting a motion to Dublin City
Council calling for recognition.
Ahead of Friday’s declaration, republican members of Derry City and
Strabane District Council united to formally back Catalan independence.
A proposal by Sinn Fein Councillor Caoimhe McKnight that the council
writes to the British and Irish governments asking them to formally
recognise the democratic outcome of the Catalan independence referendum,
was backed by all republican councillors.
Independent republican councillor Paul Gallagher, wearing a T-shirt
bearing the Estelada flag, hailed the Catalan people’s discipline and
courage and expressed concern Spain might move to establish “tyranny” in
the region in defiance of the democratic wishes of the people there.
Cllr McKnight said the motion demonstrated solidarity with the people of
Catalonia, who in turning out to vote in their independence referendum,
in spite of a “full-frontal attack by the Spanish authorities”, had been
“inspirational”