Hurdles on policing still exist, says Adams

Police reform in Northern Ireland still has some distance to travel before Sinn Féin can sign up to new policing structures, Gerry Adams warned the British government today.

As he prepared to leave tomorrow for his annual St Patrick’s week tour of the United States, the Sinn Féin leader said he expected the White House to “strongly row in” during the celebrations behind British and Irish government calls for republicans to endorse policing.

But Mr Adams insisted there were still a number of hurdles which needed to be overcome if his party was to participate in policing.

The West Belfast MP insisted: “We can expect the US administration to follow the Dublin and London line on the current policing arrangements.

“I disagree with that line, as do the majority of nationalists in the north.

“It has to be remembered that during the worst years of collusion, torture and human rights abuses these governments actively defended and praised the RUC, authorised co-operation with it and urged nationalists to join it.

“People have a right to a first-class policing service. This does not exist at this time.”

Sinn Féin is the only major Northern Ireland party to refuse to support the police.

The party has also rejected seats on policing boards which are designed to hold the Police Service of Northern Ireland accountable.

In November 2001, the Royal Ulster Constabulary was renamed the Police Service of Northern Ireland as the government embarked on radical plans to make policing more attractive to Catholics and nationalists.

Sinn Féin’s main nationalist rival, the SDLP, endorsed the new policing arrangements in August 2001 and took its seats on the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

SDLP members also serve on local district policing partnerships.

Catholic members of the boards have been attacked and threatened in recent years, mostly by hardline dissident republicans.

However the Provisional IRA has also been accused of threatening district policing partnership board members.

Last month the home of Policing Board vice chairman Denis Bradley was targeted in a petrol bomb attack which was condemned by Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin.

It emerged today that six Catholic members of the Craigavon District Policing Partnership have received death threats from dissident republicans.

Upper Bann Assembly member Dolores Kelly, the SDLP vice chairman of Craigavon DPP, said that she and her fellow members were staying put.

“Two of the individuals are party colleagues and they certainly have no intention of resigning,” she said.

“The other independent members are very strong people and they won’t be letting threats like this deter them from their work.”