Kennedy praises Police Board nationalists

Moderate nationalists in Northern Ireland must be commended for going on the Police Board despite their concerns, US Senator Edward Kennedy said today.

During a meeting in Washington with SDLP leader Mark Durkan and his deputy Brid Rodgers, the veteran senator praised the party for going onto the 19-member board which has been deliberating on the future direction of the Omagh bomb investigation.

But the senator would not be drawn on whether Sinn Fein should end its boycott of the board and take up its two seats.

Senator Kennedy said: ‘‘First of all policing is a decision which is going to have to be made by the respective parties.

‘‘Having said that, I admire the decision that the SDLP has made in terms of its involvement in this process and its willingness to work through the process.

‘‘There’s still areas (on policing) that are of concern to them but the fact is that they are working inside the system and I think they have every expectation that a number of their concerns are going to be addressed.

‘‘I respect this judgment. I respect this decision and I admire them for making it.’’

Sinn Fein has refused to take up its seats because it believes the government’s police reforms do not go far enough.

They have demanded more accountability by the Chief Constable to the board and the Police Ombudsman, with the party’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness branding the Police Board a ‘‘toothless tiger’’.

Last August, the SDLP became the first nationalist party in the history of Northern Ireland to endorse a police force and announced it would be taking the three seats it was entitled to on the board.

The party is represented by its chairman Alex Attwood, South Down MP Eddie McGrady and West Tyrone MLA Joe Byrne.

Sinn Fein’s refusal to take part on the board was criticised recently by US President George W Bush’s special adviser on Northern Ireland, Ambassador Richard Haass, who urged republicans to try to influence change from the inside.